TMNT Movie Quarter-Scale
Foot Soldier
“Money cannot buy the honor you have earned tonight. You make us all proud.”
I have to admit, those two sentences still get over on me, and Shredder’s grand entrance to the 1990 TMNT movie was pretty much scary and perfect. However, coming from the cartoon, seeing the Foot Soldiers in the movie be actual humans who trained was new to me, and I was instantly all-in. Sure, that was comic canon, but I was too young for that at the time, but the darker overall tone of the movie was certainly enhanced by a more human element of these faceless soldiers, and seeing them fight and be actively injured gave more weight to the stakes. Even without prior TMNT comic exposure, I fell in love with the original movie from my first viewing, and I am over the moon by the fact that NECA is giving us a golden age of movie-based action figures.
Like the Turtles themselves, I had the movie version of the Foot Soldier when I was a kid, but unlike the movie Turtles (who I subbed in as my new default versions), the Soldier was a bit of an outcast in my toy and cartoon-based line. Well, thanks to the quarter-scale line (and HOPEFULLY their 7-inch line later), the Foot Soldier now has the chance to shine with the movie-accurate Turtles, and it is a good thing, they have been waiting on some guys to fight for over a year now. Of course, Shredder will be here soon, too, but it is nice that he sent his emissary out first, because this “grunt” actually has a lot going for him. I hesitate to use the term “army-builder” here due to the scale and price point, but if it is in your means, have fun building up your Foot Clan ranks with this dude.
Now, the movie TMNT figures are the only thing that I collect at this quarter-scale, but I have to say, it is really fun getting new figures at this size. The amount of detail that can be rendered and then shown off to the naked eye is pretty incredible. I get it, we live in a time when smaller scales are matching the intricacies of bigger figures, but being able to see all of the effort and attention on such a large palette is really fun. Like the Turtles, this figure does that beautifully, and really, it is more of a surprise here than with the green guys. I mean, the Foot Soldiers, with good reason, mind you, pretty much wear plain back pajamas. That said, there is a TON of sculpted and painted details here, it is hard to catch them all. The fabric alone has sculpting to it at every inch, and nothing is left smooth or without attention. My favorite parts are probably the arm gauntlets and eye covers though, and the combination of sculpt and paint really give those spots a ton of personality. Likewise, the clean paint lines on Oroku Saki’s symbol he wears above his brow is perfectly rendered as well.
There are a lot of accessories included here as well, and in the form of many weapons, and the hands needed to use them all. Frankly, I was expecting to see quite a bit of reuse in the weapons department from the Turtles to this guy, but that is absolutely NOT the case. In fact, I don’t think anything has be repurposed between the releases, so the Foot Soldier gets two sets of nunchucks (one with a chain and one with fabric straps), a sai, a sword, and my personal favorite, the axe (good things these guys aren’t lumberjacks).
I don’t know why my brain goes to the place of assuming that, just because a figure is larger, the articulation and/or range of movement might not be as good as my traditional 1:12 scale, but it is certainly not the case with this guy. I would most certainly consider him to be “super articulated” and his points and range are everything that I would expect from a premium figure, but also for lines like Marvel Legends, SH Figuarts, and NECA’s Ultimate execution. The engineering has to be top of game to support the weight and size of this figure, and it is right there because, as you can see, he can balance on one leg. The articulation and engineering also helps to facilitate the use of the weaponry, and that is supported by the interchangeable hands which include fists, open fingers, and two different sized grips.
Overall, this guy is every bit as good as the previous Turtle releases, and that is a high compliment. As I said, I don’t normally collect this scale, but this is TMNT and these are some of the nicest figures in my collection. I have half a mind to get another one of these guys from Dorkside Toys, but with Shredder on the way, I need to check my space first, haha. I know NECA has mentioned a possible movie-themed exclusive for SDCC this year, so I wonder if the Foot Soldier and Shredder might be brought down to the 7-inch scale to match the Turtles from last year. I am not sure what I next on the horizon for this scale, though, but I would GLADLY hate Splinter, Casey, Tatsu, and April for sure.
