Coming up on 2 weeks from the email from NECA that the van would be shipping "in the coming week", yet nothing has changed. No surprise but with the holiday next week, it's not looking good for delivery before then.
I now have a 10 pound package on a new shipping label coming from NECA and its in transit not just label created. So I'm guessing its my sewer and Van in one box
I've seen others getting their vans. Looks like everyone so far had it arrive via UPS. Us FedEx folk got the excitement of a tracking number 2 and a half months ago, but no movement.
I now have a 10 pound package on a new shipping label coming from NECA and its in transit not just label created. So I'm guessing its my sewer and Van in one box
Same here. I’ve got a 10lb box due tomorrow. The tracking for the 9lb box I had sitting for months might in fact be bogus.
Just got a tracking email saying my van shipped! Woo!
My order finally got picked up today. Since it's coming from Jersey, it should be here tomorrow. Go figure, the one day out of the week no one will be home. Hopefully the neighbor is around...
I have thoughts.
First, the box is huge and had me thinking the actual van was much bigger. It's still big, but not as big as the box led me to believe. It comes mostly assembled, and the rest of the parts come secure in all of the plastic trays that hold the vehicle in place.
Assembly is easy enough, just plug the cannons into the ports on the roof. The rest of the parts are optional. Instructions are printed on the bottom of the box. There's two interior walls that can be swapped, a short one called a "battle wall", and a tall one called a "tech wall". I used the latter. Both attach to the back of the driver seat. The short one is the height of the driver seat, which leaves the back area visible. The tech wall goes to the ceiling, sequestering the back area.
The driver side and passenger side doors open and close on a very thin hinge. The driver side has a platform that hinges down, the passenger side has the split door. The back doors open and close. The roof over the driver area is removable, and the roof over the rear area splits open in the middle to recreate the opening credits scene. The tires are rubber on a solid axle. The front wheels do not turn.
Front is a bench seat, and could fit two turtles and probably April. Steering wheel can rotate. Radar dish on roof can rotate. The cannons pivot up so they stand straight up, but don't pivot all the way down to be flush with the roof. Lowest it can go is about 30º. I don't love that.
There's a removable panel that recreates the collapsed gun seat for the driver side platform, which can attach and still maintain the ability to open and close the platform. The gun seat on the passenger side comes in three pieces - the seat, the floor, and the gun. The floor has two huge torpedos permanently affixed to the underside. The only moving parts on the gun seat are the handlebars (which rotate) and the seat belts (which holds a turtle in securely and plug in easily).
Lastly, the van has very bright LED headlights, operated by a tiny on/off switch on the undercarriage. Batteries were already installed.
The flat finish paint seems sparse, but accurate to the appearance in the show. It is surprisingly lacking any kind of black line detail that is characteristic of EVERY toon release. The texture of the paint and quality of the plastic makes it feel brittle and squeaky whenever parts move. I get a little nervous about that, as things stick and feel like they're about to break when the move. Taking the roof off felt like the pegs might break. Moving the wall panels in and out felt like they were jamming against the interior. I was also afraid of scuffing paints. That's probably the only issue I have with this.
The opening doors all over the vehicle make seeing what's going on inside very easy. Even the back doors open to walls lined with computers for Donatello to stress over. You can see all of that from the rear, from the roof, from the drop down side panel, or the gun door. The front cab is also pretty visible through the windshield and door windows. There are NO foot pegs anywhere, so securing a figure may require creative posing.
Please don't remind me what we paid for these things. I'm really enjoying how it looks on my shelf, though it's pretty bare bones in terms of deco. I guess I have fonder memories of the toy Party Wagon than the van from the show, which is how I generally feel about the toon line anyway. But I do remember this was the more affordable option between NECA and Super7. I am quite satisfied.
I got the updated notice from FedEx that my van had finally moved yesterday and it was delivered before I left for work today.
I'll have a chance to open it up on Monday, and then I can see if it'll actually fit on the shelf I had cleared off for it in my display cabinet or not.
Everything NORM mentioned lines up with what Pixel Dan mentioned in his review, but I'm still happy to have this, opposed to the Super7 version.
I'm jealous of everyone getting theirs. Mine is still sitting in label created status. 😑
Same label created in September per FedEx. It’s also the label that was mentioned in the email telling me my Van has shipped. Is there a limit to when a label can be created then actually used?
I feel like NECA sat on these. FedEx is just waiting for the goods to ship.
Thwipp!
I think those September tracking labels are bogus. They sent me a new separate tracking number for my van and the original hadn’t changed even after my van was delivered.
My Van showed up today with a different tracking number.
I wanna love this thing but man does it have some QC issues.
One of my hubcaps keeps falling off.
The doors are flimsy and have trouble laying flush with the van.
My cannons can't line up properly and will always be disjointed. It's like the ratchets were assembled backwards on one of them.
It looks perfect, but it definitely does not feel sturdy.
It looks perfect, but it definitely does not feel sturdy.
This is probably why it cost nearly half of the Super7 one, which will likely feel more sturdy.
Though you can't always immediately see the quality/strength differences in terms of sheer size, they do impact the cost.
Reviews suggest it's a "set it and forget it" on the shelf thing. It looks the part, but it's not fun to mess with given the fragility.
I skipped the pre-order due to the hump issue. Now I'm on the fence should they reoffer it. The collection will feel incomplete without it, but it might be annoying to own and operate it.
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