Rise Leonardo Figure Early Review

[Powder]

Got my grubby mitts on a Rise Of The TMNT Leonardo figure a few months in advance.

Took a few pics (sorry for the big 'ol logo/watermark) & wanted to share with you guys what I could. I'm no ace photographer, but it'll have to do. Here are some random poses up front, a back/side view, scale comparison shot, & lastly, something for fun. If you guys want me to try and take other pictures with different figures/specific poses, or have questions, let me know, I'll see what I can do.








Higher resolution photos at the source: http://letskickshell.tumblr.com/

Ok, so now onto a little bit of a review. I've never really done one before, so bear with me. I'm going to do my best to be objective & informative but if you feel I've missed something by all means ask/chime in. From the comparison shot, you can see this line will be a bit more sleek in appearance, as this is the leanest Leo we've seen to date. These will have a nice matte paint job, as opposed to the semi-gloss kind which came before. This is a big plus, as they photograph better & look a little less like the affordable kids toys that they are as a result. To further that point, the material itself feels like it may be of a higher quality than the 2012 wave, it reminds me slightly of Japanese collector figures in that sense, very smooth. Given the smaller sculpt/joints, it seems slightly more fragile than its predecessors, but this would not be an issue for adult collectors, obviously. I'm being especially careful not to test its limits as this is a very special advance item which I will be putting back in its case for safe keeping, so future reviews from other collectors will be able to go more in-depth.

There is a fairly impressive range of motion, however the lack of wrist swivels is immediately noticeable to me personally. The gloved forearms do fully rotate however, so it's only a minor inconvenience as you've still got a means of moving the hands in some capacity. Head's on a ball joint, nice & snug, full range. The arms & legs are jointed similarly to the previous two toylines, so they're pretty generous, if perhaps slightly less so in the elbow area. Unlike Nick's CGI turtle figures, these fellas now have ankle rockers, which also swivel side to side, as do the legs from the knee down. The knee area seems to be engineered differently now that the turtles don't wear pads, there is instead a kneecap obscuring its joint. Leonardo unfortunately cannot wield his blade two-handed as depicted in the animated series' official art. To that end, his hands are wide open, a bit too much, as his grip on the sword is quite loose. I only have the one sword pictured, so I can't speak to how well their shape lends itself to holding other accessories, which they may well be primarily structured for. Regarding the katana, while mine has additional paint apps on the hilt & handle, the retail edition will not. This is to be expected given the majority of Playmates' turtle toys have had monochromatic accessories, which is a common cost-cutting method. If it helps the figures themselves get full paint apps, it's a fair trade off. But hey, they're translucent! What 80's/90's kid doesn't love that gimmick? At any rate, the only unpainted part of this figure is in its palms, where there appear to be some sort of straps or wraps sculpted, but as these would normally be obscured by the items held in them, it's of no consequence whatsoever.

As far as the aesthetics go, it's a pretty striking figure. The colors are more bright & vibrant than ever, & their lack of a sheen takes things up a notch. Articulation is for the most part unobtrusive, & doesn't feel like it breaks up the sculpt awkwardly. The belt is a separate piece laid into sculpted grooves in the shell, it hangs low off the waist, but clearly by design. Marks on his face, & upper arms/thighs are unique to this figure, as part of his distinction as a Red Eared Slider, & they really pop. The (carapace) shell design is unlike any we've seen before, quite cool. He looks slightly hunched over as the neck protrudes forward rather than straight up, which I'd have preferred, but the animated teaser suggests that's how the character is drawn. That said, this figure definitely does justice to its source material, and reflects its style pretty well. However, the 12 inch turtles from this wave do a much better job at matching it for one reason, their heads/faces have stronger features. Andy Suriano's turtle designs are very sharp & angular, which is reflected in the giant figures perfectly, but less so on these, which have comparably rounder edges, at least in the head/face, where it counts most. For the price point, it's a minor quip, but I think these were done a disservice by not sharing the sculpts of those larger versions.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this guy. I'm very much looking forward to owning the full set of turtles, Splinter, & a host of others.

[oldmanwinters]

Woah, Powder has connections!

I do think they're solid looking figures. I hope they won't be hard-to-find when they finally hit store shelves!

[Candy Kappa]

Pretty solid review. I do like the articulation scheme and how the colors pop, it's just a shame the head sculpt is so buttery.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I'm impressed with the paint job... seems like more attention to detail was given to this line.

But then, it is just starting out. Anyways, I like it. Thanks, Powder! Appreciate the sneak peek...

[IndigoErth]

How the... Who did you bribe really well? lol

To further that point, the material itself feels like it may be of a higher quality than the 2012 wave

Thanks for the review, and this was kind of my main curiosity, how they feel in hand; if it feels like quality stuff or if they were thin, light, and cheap feeling.


The amount of articulation for toy aisle figures seems nice, though I'm a little concerned if the joints in those skinny legs could ever be produced too loose and not allow them to stand well.

Edit: For those who are good at it, these guys might also make some interesting repaints, come to think of it.

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by Powder

Got my grubby mitts on a Rise Of The TMNT Leonardo figure a few months in advance.

Took a few pics (sorry for the big 'ol logo/watermark) & wanted to share with you guys what I could. I'm no ace photographer, but it'll have to do. Here are some random poses up front, a back/side view, scale comparison shot, & lastly, something for fun. If you guys want me to try and take other pictures with different figures/specific poses, or have questions, let me know, I'll see what I can do.

https://78.media.tumblr.com/95418542...lbg2o1_540.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/5c44d466...lbg2o2_540.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/940cb1e1...lbg2o3_540.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/551eab0d...lbg2o4_540.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/270351c2...lbg2o5_540.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/0fe171a0...lbg2o1_540.png

Higher resolution photos at the source: http://letskickshell.tumblr.com/

Ok, so now onto a little bit of a review. I've never really done one before, so bear with me. I'm going to do my best to be objective & informative but if you feel I've missed something by all means ask/chime in. From the comparison shot, you can see this line will be a bit more sleek in appearance, as this is the leanest Leo we've seen to date. These will have a nice matte paint job, as opposed to the semi-gloss kind which came before. This is a big plus, as they photograph better & look a little less like the affordable kids toys that they are as a result. To further that point, the material itself feels like it may be of a higher quality than the 2012 wave, it reminds me slightly of Japanese collector figures in that sense, very smooth. Given the smaller sculpt/joints, it seems slightly more fragile than its predecessors, but this would not be an issue for adult collectors, obviously. I'm being especially careful not to test its limits as this is a very special advance item which I will be putting back in its case for safe keeping, so future reviews from other collectors will be able to go more in-depth.

There is a fairly impressive range of motion, however the lack of wrist swivels is immediately noticeable to me personally. The gloved forearms do fully rotate however, so it's only a minor inconvenience as you've still got a means of moving the hands in some capacity. Head's on a ball joint, nice & snug, full range. The arms & legs are jointed similarly to the previous two toylines, so they're pretty generous, if perhaps slightly less so in the elbow area. Unlike Nick's CGI turtle figures, these fellas now have ankle rockers, which also swivel side to side, as do the legs from the knee down. The knee area seems to be engineered differently now that the turtles don't wear pads, there is instead a kneecap obscuring its joint. Leonardo unfortunately cannot wield his blade two-handed as depicted in the animated series' official art. To that end, his hands are wide open, a bit too much, as his grip on the sword is quite loose. I only have the one sword pictured, so I can't speak to how well their shape lends itself to holding other accessories, which they may well be primarily structured for. Regarding the katana, while mine has additional paint apps on the hilt & handle, the retail edition will not. This is to be expected given the majority of Playmates' turtle toys have had monochromatic accessories, which is a common cost-cutting method. If it helps the figures themselves get full paint apps, it's a fair trade off. But hey, they're translucent! What 80's/90's kid doesn't love that gimmick? At any rate, the only unpainted part of this figure is in its palms, where there appear to be some sort of straps or wraps sculpted, but as these would normally be obscured by the items held in them, it's of no consequence whatsoever.

As far as the aesthetics go, it's a pretty striking figure. The colors are more bright & vibrant than ever, & their lack of a sheen takes things up a notch. Articulation is for the most part unobtrusive, & doesn't feel like it breaks up the sculpt awkwardly. The belt is a separate piece laid into sculpted grooves in the shell, it hangs low off the waist, but clearly by design. Marks on his face, & upper arms/thighs are unique to this figure, as part of his distinction as a Red Eared Slider, & they really pop. The (carapace) shell design is unlike any we've seen before, quite cool. He looks slightly hunched over as the neck protrudes forward rather than straight up, which I'd have preferred, but the animated teaser suggests that's how the character is drawn. That said, this figure definitely does justice to its source material, and reflects its style pretty well. However, the 12 inch turtles from this wave do a much better job at matching it for one reason, their heads/faces have stronger features. Andy Suriano's turtle designs are very sharp & angular, which is reflected in the giant figures perfectly, but less so on these, which have comparably rounder edges, at least in the head/face, where it counts most. For the price point, it's a minor quip, but I think these were done a disservice by not sharing the sculpts of those larger versions.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this guy. I'm very much looking forward to owning the full set of turtles, Splinter, & a host of others.

Congrats on beating Pixel Dan on getting a turtle figure early

[Coro]

Playing devils advocate here:


Aren't YOU the one that normally posts links to the review thread and tells everyone to not start a new thread for a review?

HAHAH

[The-Shredder]

Nice review! These figures definitely stand out from the previous releases and they seem to be more accurate to the show, for better or worse. If anyone missed it, the official TMNT social media page also posted a video (with loud music, so turn down your volume), showcasing all four Turtles figures as a part of a sweepstakes. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgjNaYXnTA_/

[CyberCubed]

That toy looks really good, and I like Leo's design the most in general of the new Rise designs. From what I can tell the Raph figure looked too small, but I wonder how Don and Mike turned out.

Also good that this is on tumblr, it's time for forums to die out with the early 2000's and the TMNT fandom to move to twitter/tumblr like cool young teens of today post.

[inaheap]

Originally Posted by The-Shredder

Nice review! These figures definitely stand out from the previous releases and they seem to be more accurate to the show, for better or worse. If anyone missed it, the official TMNT social media page also posted a video (with loud music, so turn down your volume), showcasing all four Turtles figures as a part of a sweepstakes. https://www.instagram.com/p/BgjNaYXnTA_/

Also on Twitter and Facebook.

[Papenbrook]

That's a nice Leonardo figurine, Powder!

• How many positions can it take?

• How accurate is it to the (upcoming) television series?

• Where are the shadow "shorts"?

• *Bonus* Is it possible for Leonardo to position his hand behind his head?

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Papenbrook

*Bonus* Is it possible for Leonardo to position his hand behind his head?

Okay, I can't decide... Meaning for grasping his sword handle or, given this cocky version, for striking sexy poses?

[sdp]

That figure looks really cool and colorful, but I wonder if the colors are because it's an early review copy, I remember the same happened with the 2012 figures.

Thanks for sharing Powder.

[mousesi2k]

I feel when standing next to other Turtle figures, he looks very much like a toad or frog. Still a cool figure none the less.

[TurtleWA]

Originally Posted by mousesi2k

I feel when standing next to other Turtle figures, he looks very much like a toad or frog.

Yes I thought the very same thing. I think it might have to do with the head shape and very tiny legs. I may skip this design and pick up a vehicle or a double of a different character.

[Wildcat]

The T is not colored on the belt....oh Playmates

Don’t really mind if the weapons are a solid translucent. It works for this.

Thanks for posting.

[LilithMV]

The colors I like. But the head i just too ugly for my taste. Well at least there might be some nice vehicles I can use for the older figures.

[D Piddy 1982]

I know I'm in the minority but I like the new art for the show, and this figure looks great!

Love the bottom pic Powder, great shot!

Can't wait for these to come out, I will definitely get the 4 brothers, not sure about the other characters though.

Wondering how easy it will be to find these in the wild in the UK after Toys R Us demise...

[BartAllen]

I wasn't sure I was going to get any of the Rise figures, but the articulation on that Leo has me thinking I might.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Originally Posted by BartAllen

I wasn't sure I was going to get any of the Rise figures, but the articulation on that Leo has me thinking I might.

same, when are they out?