Merchandise before 1987 Cartoon, part one
These are items advertised in the original comics before the original cartoon was made, usually only available by mail order.
I first started looking for these when I read about them in the Official TMNT Treasury in 1991. I wouldn't make my first acquisition until the late '90s with the advent of Ebay.
T-shirt Iron-Ons (1984-1986).
These were the very first non-comic book TMNT merchandise. They were first advertised in TMNT#1, 2nd printing, on the inside back cover. There were a total two sets released throughout the years of 1984-1986. They were made to order by Eastman and Laird themselves. It's unknown how many were produced of each, but it's very hard to find any of them really. For some of them, I've only ever known of one or two to exist.
Set 1 (1984) (set complete)
The first one I acquired was the Turtles on the rooftop around 1998. I reached out a an Ebay seller who was selling Dark Horse Miniatures to ask about iron-ons. They found it in their garage a month later and contacted me about it. Finally completed the set in 2023 with the acquisition of Donatello and Michaelangelo. 25 years to find them all.
Set 2 (1985-1986) (set complete). The earliest I've found an ad for the second set is Fugitoid #1 which is from 1985, but they continued to be advertised in Mirage comics throughout 1986.
The second set features a redesign of every design from the first set, besides the Shredder design. At least, I've never seen an updated Shredder design for the 1985 set. It could exist, but as of now I think they kept the exact same design (the Shredder pictured below is the exactly the one pictured above). The 1985 set also added one new design: The Fugitoid, which is extremely rare.
The first one I acquired in this set was the Logo with blood spatter in 2007. I acquired the final piece of the puzzle, the Fugitoid, in 2017.
Dark Horse Miniatures (1985-1987).
These were offered through mail order in the comics, and I think specialty gaming stores carried them too. After years of searching, I have finally collected all 24 packaging variations!
1st style packaging consisted of one set, 142 TMNT. It was a baggie stapled to a piece of paper. This is the best condition packaging I've ever been able to find for this set. It looks brand new, as if it was made yesterday.
2nd style packaging ("Dark Horse" packaging) (set complete):
Left to right, top to bottom:
142 TMNT (re-release)
166 Splinter, Shredder, 4 Mousers
173 Fugitoid, Casey Jones, Triceraton
174 Four Foot Soldiers
175 Two Triceratons with Flying Harness
176 TMNT with Energy Weapons
3rd style packaging (Leonardo packaging) (set complete):
Left to right, top to bottom:
142 TMNT (re-release)
166 Splinter, Shredder, 4 Mousers (re-release)
173 Fugitoid, Casey Jones, Triceraton
174 Four Foot Soldiers (re-release)
175 Two Triceratons with Flying Harness (re-release)
**Not pictured, but in collection** 176 TMNT with Energy Weapons (re-release)
177 Terror Bears
178 Player Characters
179 Dr. Feral and Henchmen
3rd style packaging (Large Turtles) (set complete):
Left to right, top to bottom:
Leonardo (on side)
Michaelangelo (on side)
Donatello (on side)
Raphael (on side)
7501 Leonardo (upright)
7502 Michaelangelo (upright)
7503 Donatello (upright)
7504 Raphael (upright)
