They did it, you guys. NECA went and did it. With the release of this brand new quarter-scale Michelangelo, they have completed one of the most impressive action figure sets in my entire collection. The four brothers are complete in their iconic movie looks, and it leaves me needing to paraphrase the star of this feature –
“God, I love having these TURTLES!!!”
Yes, it seems like it was just yesterday when we were taking a look at the NECA Leonardo, but they had given us the heads up that Mikey would be following right behind, and now, quick as can be, he is here. I realize that if you look at this on its own, it is simply the release of a cool action figure, but when Mikey joins Leo, Don, and Raph, he instantly becomes a part of a pretty big (pun intended) accomplishment by NECA, to the benefit of all us TMNT fans. These large-scale movie Turtles instantly become the best team collection from TMNT ever, in my opinion, and the fact that NECA was able to maintain such razor sharp consistency from release to release is notable on its own merits. Sure, I want to take some time to talk about Mikey, but just as much, this is really a comment on the collection as a whole.
To start, I want to reaffirm that Michelangelo is just like the other three Turtles. Yeah, that does mean that he reuses the same basic body parts where it is appropriate, but more so it means that the level of quality and detail is of the same caliber, including the new parts. The paint detail, sculpt detail, plastic quality, and articulation engineering with this piece matches with the rest of the releases, and that is to say, they are all fantastic. Stylistically, everyone fits together as a cohesive unit with matching colors and builds, but there is also no variance in the plastic quality or the strength of the joints, so I am quite pleased with that.
With that said, I have to focus on what makes Mikey different, but what makes him different also makes him the same. The new head sculpt is yet another wonderful achievement in terms of plastic recreation of the on-screen puppet. The details and the expression instantly invoke Mikey, and frankly, I am just sitting here waiting for him to start talking. His look is, of course, happy-go-lucky, and it is a nice contrast to the more serious expressions of the other Turtles, but that is Michelangelo for you. His eyes might be slightly more distant because of how wide-eyed he is, but even if he is not going to lock eyes and follow you around the room (I SWEAR Donatello does this), he is still lifelike and animated.
He does, as you might expect, come with several of the common accessories we have come to know in this line, so you will be familiar with many of the alternate hands and the pizza slice, though that one has never been more at home than right there. His unique accessories are rendered just as faithfully as the his brother’s weapons, and his patented nunchakus match the source well. I always thought Mike’s weapons looked the most different from cartoon to movie due to the fact that they are connected with leather rather than a chain, and a short piece at that. I am glad that was not overlooked and he comes with two standard ‘chuks, as he should (his finger spinning set looks to come in the set with the babies). In the end though, I think my favorite accessory is the bag of pork rinds because it was totally unexpected, but a perfect inclusion, and he can share them with Donnie.
I know this was brief, but I am not sure how else you express perfection when it is the fourth time over, but that is exactly what Michelangelo is – perfect. Or, at least as close as you can get in an action figure. These four quarter-scale figures instantly become the centerpiece of my TMNT display, and maybe my action figure collection overall. I have to give kudos to Randy, and Trevor, and everyone at NECA for accomplishing such an amazing feat of plastic. The good news is that, even though we have all four Turtles now, the line is not over because SDCC already teased a trench coat disguise Raph, and some possible Foot Clan members in the works, oh and the baby Turtles as well. If you have been collecting this line, do NOT skip Mikey, he is awesome and you can get him right HERE. Also, if you have skipped it, now is the time to go back and pick up all of these, you really will not regret it.
Now, if we can get NECA to get us these in 1:12 scale, I would gleefully buy all of them all over again!
