Official 25th Anniversary Figures Thread

[snake]

Originally Posted by MST3KFan

I'm thinking Playmates is done releasing the vintage TMNT figures in any form. It'd be cool to see them again, but they've released them so much between the originals and then the 25th Anniversary versions. I just don't see it happening again.

They want to concentrate pretty much on the 2012 stuff now since that is selling.

It would be funny if they re-released the harder to find vintage figures though. Hot Spot, Scratch, Shogun Shaote, Halfcourt, etc... It would make the prices on ebay drop quite a bit maybe. >_>

It would be even funnier if they released all turtle variants......Funny until there shelf warming a year and a half after their release.

[MST3KFan]

Originally Posted by snakeweed101

It would be even funnier if they released all turtle variants......Funny until there shelf warming a year and a half after their release.

So like the turtle variants of today are kind of doing? LOL

[snake]

Originally Posted by MST3KFan

So like the turtle variants of today are kind of doing? LOL

No, even more! Release the whole set of turtle variants from the original toyline!

[MST3KFan]

Originally Posted by snakeweed101

No, even more! Release the whole set of turtle variants from the original toyline!

I wouldn't mind re-releases of the Movie Star TMNT, Universal Monsters TMNT, Trenchcoat TMNT, and even the Rock N Roll TMNT figures (Suine Hallock's reviews of them sold me on them). Other than that I'm good on variants of the turtles.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by MST3KFan

I wouldn't mind re-releases of the Movie Star TMNT.

This. Or better yet, new (accurate) ones.

[tmntgoldcoin]

Originally Posted by MST3KFan

I wouldn't mind re-releases of the Movie Star TMNT, Universal Monsters TMNT, Trenchcoat TMNT, and even the Rock N Roll TMNT figures (Suine Hallock's reviews of them sold me on them). Other than that I'm good on variants of the turtles.

They were supped to have rereleased those movie stars when the 25th came out, but they got cancelled. Bad move on playmates part, they would have sold like crazy.

[billbot85]

Originally Posted by tmntgoldcoin

They were supped to have rereleased those movie stars when the 25th came out, but they got cancelled. Bad move on playmates part, they would have sold like crazy.

That's right, I remember that! They were going to release the Movie Star Turtles after wave 3. I had forgotten about that until now. We might've even discussed that on this thread earlier? Maybe Playmates will surprise us and do it for the 30th Anniversary

[mikey0]

I was looking at the TMNT Battle Box travel game that was made in 1991 and sold in late ‘91 or early ‘92 and that’s where pant-less Shredder came from.

Pant-less Shredder from the Battle Box game is in the third picture here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjk9W8ijeNf/

I think Playmates was trying to take an aim at the Mattel MOTU toy line with the first wave Shredder figure.

[cloud]

Originally Posted by tmntgoldcoin

They were supped to have rereleased those movie stars when the 25th came out, but they got cancelled. Bad move on playmates part, they would have sold like crazy.

I think they can't. Some of the molds are probably damaged or destroyed. That's why when they made the anniversary set with all those Leonardos, the movie start Leo was missing his belt.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by cloud

I think they can't. Some of the molds are probably damaged or destroyed. That's why when they made the anniversary set with all those Leonardos, the movie start Leo was missing his belt.

The 25th Anniversary toy line never took off at all in ‘09 and ‘10. Adult collectors would much rather purchase the originals off of eBay and other retailers online. Belt or no belt, I’m sure Playmates would have released them if enough people were buying up the first and second waves of the 25th Anniversary figures. Instead, adult collectors spoke about the old ones and vehicles every time they passed the ‘09 reissues in the stores. The 2001 Mattel MOTU, 1997 G.I Joe A Real American Hero, both the TRU and Walmart G1 Transformers, and 1997 the Kenner Batman Movie Collection reissues sold like hot cakes in stores. The problem with each Turtles re-release is the originals were mass produced during and after Turtlemania 1990. The only selling points that any Turtles first wave reissue has is the accessories and belts.

Regardless of that fact, many adult collectors would have bought Movie Star Turtles if they never came with the belt and accessories. I think the popularity of the off-brand Movie Star Turtles and basic Movie Splinter and Foot Soldier 6 piece set from China is a good enough reminder of how sought after the Movie Star Turtles are in this century. Instead of the exclusive Target Leonardo 3 pack and exclusive TRU History of the TMNT Featuring Leonardo, we could have gotten an exclusive TRU Movie Star Turtles 4 pack during the releases of the 2014 and 2016 Michael Bay movies. Playmates keeps missing the ball with these. Like Coro said in a different thread on here, Playmates needs to focus on what the customers want.

[TMNTFanatic4Life]

I missed out on most of these when they were released. I only have Splinter, April and Slash.


But I did end up getting all the Classic Collection releases.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by TMNTFanatic4Life

I missed out on most of these when they were released. I only have Splinter, April and Slash.


But I did end up getting all the Classic Collection releases.

There was some anticipation for the 25th Anniversary figures in 2008 when the release date was announced. Then, these were not sold until the first quarter of 2009 and Playmates lost quite a few adult collectors to the Hasbro Marvel Legends and Mattel DC Universe lines. Splinter (3rd quarter of ‘09) was relatively easy to find. April was on clearance in many retailers these were sold at like K-Mart. Unfortunately, the last wave of 25th Anniversary figures was sold at TRU Express in the final quarter of 2009 and on clearance at ROSS stores in early 2010.

At the time, casual adult toy collectors were looking down on Playmates for these and passing on them due to the prices. The 25th Anniversary figures were “too ‘89 and ‘90” for their 2000s taste. It just so turns out that the 25th Anniversary line was perfect for Slash fans. We will not see another Slash release for years by the look of it.

[TMNTooze]

I still wish they would have release Casey Jones in the line since he was on the packaging for the turtle van.

[TheCanadiandrome]

I feel like we should've gotten playsets, that would've driven sales potentially

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by TheCanadiandrome

I feel like we should've gotten playsets, that would've driven sales potentially

Both pop-up and giant scale size playsets for the 25th Anniversary retro figures would have helped to make the line more transparent than it was.
Overall, the 25th Anniversary figures suffered from looking out of place on toy shelves in all quarters of 2009 into 2010. The highly poseable action figure series and DC Bruce Timm animated figures made any 80s and 90s toy reissue look obsolete in the 2000s. Aside from that, most toy collectors had the originals in ‘09. The ones that didn’t could easily purchase even the soft heads on card (not mint) for a good price by auctioneers who were unaware of their value.

The first wave of 25th Anniversary figures not being sold until early 2009 at Target months after the announcement in 2008 was the first letdown for TMNT toy completists. Then, April, Splinter, Bebop, and Rocksteady being a part of the second wave was the second strike against Playmates for the 25th Anniversary line. The final blow erupted when the last wave (without Pant-less Shredder and Casey Jones) was sold exclusively at TRU Express stores in late 2009. The whole 25th Anniversary line was made for toy clearance aisles. The paint apps were sloppy, front card design was tacky, and in general, it was a poor throwback for collectors of the original TMNT toy line. The Party Wagon sticker advertising the DVDs for the first wave turtle figures stood out about these, but that was it.

Re-releasing some of the hard to find characters (like the OP in the “Re-release of Rare Characters” suggested) alongside every first wave character and some fan favorites would have helped the 25th Anniversary line tremendously.

The 2013 Classic Collection Retro set was more of an improvement over these, but Playmates still hasn’t gotten to the point where toy collectors (other than TMNT toy completists and fans) anticipate any TMNT reissue sets. Hopefully, in the 2020s, Playmates will put out a better original TMNT toy reissue line (without figure and vehicle re-releases from 21st century lines) than both the 25th Anniversary and Classic Collection put together. For now, the reissues from 1990 to 1999 look to be the best reissued figures.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by TMNTooze

I still wish they would have release Casey Jones in the line since he was on the packaging for the turtle van.

The empty promises from Playmates are what most toy collectors, reviewers, and sellers know the 25th Anniversary line for. Casey Jones and the Movie Star Turtles (even without the belts and many accessories) on 25th Anniversary cards would have done more for the line than only the mini Krang and Slash re-release did. A pant-less Shredder could have been a big hit with MOTU fans who wanted a MOTU-esque action figure for the 2009 holiday season. The laughs that a pant-less Shredder would have generated from casual consumers might have even stopped the line from ending up on clearance at ROSS stores in early 2010.

For a casual original TMNT toy line collector, a MOC 25th Shredder and Party Wagon package (with or without contents inside) are a must own, but that’s it. The 2015 History of TMNT Featuring Leonardo set and Classic Collection Retro turtle variants were more impressive than the 25th Anniversary line for the most part. Still, the 25th Anniversary line was more than fans were given for the 35th Anniversary so far. I suppose it could be worst for toy collectors. Each new original Playmates reissue set or line is different from the last. So, for that, I’m sure many TMNT fans are thankful.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by mikey0

The empty promises from Playmates are what most toy collectors, reviewers, and sellers know the 25th Anniversary line for.

Can I ask where you got the data to make this statement?

I wasn't aware of much hype surrounding the 25th line to begin with, and I don't recall grandiose promises from Playmates about the re-issues. I do recall perceiving general market apathy from an unnecessarily re-used toyline at the time, however.

I'd be curious to see tangible examples of where collectors, reviewers and sellers became aware of, and remember, the 25th Anniversary line through a series of unfulfilled promises from Playmates...

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by IMJ

Can I ask where you got the data to make this statement?

I wasn't aware of much hype surrounding the 25th line to begin with, and I don't recall grandiose promises from Playmates about the re-issues. I do recall perceiving general market apathy from an unnecessarily re-used toyline at the time, however.

I'd be curious to see tangible examples of where collectors, reviewers and sellers became aware of, and remember, the 25th Anniversary line through a series of unfulfilled promises from Playmates...

Some toy collectors on various toy site boards (including this one) bring up pant-less Shredder for laughs and the Movie Star TMNT reissues being announced but never released from time to time.

The divider between when the original TMNT toy line was last relevant and now was obviously the Power Rangers craze of 1994 into 1995. Since the mid 90s, most action figures have looked like plastic versions of the wooden manikins you see at art supply stores.

The last and only saving grace for the 25th Anniversary line was the unreleased Movie Star Turtles variants because Movie Star turtles have not been re-released since 1995 or 1996 and it was difficult for TMNT movie lovers to find a loose and complete Movie Star turtle variant for cheap in the 2000s.

Bebop, Rocksteady, and Slash were unnecessary re-uses of the original mold for the 25th Anniversary line because the line was really made to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the first Mirage Studios comic book series. There were many cases of the second and third wave figures made for the 25th Anniversary line at the time, it seemed. The 25th Anniversary line did not do as well as Playmates anticipated because of the boys toy market change from late 1993 to today and The Great Recession. Also, TMNT seems to be the least liked of ‘major 80s action figure properties by adult collectors of other lines because they do not see the value of the FW cartoon (past possibly the mini-series, if even that) and original toy line. The original Playmates toy line was a real cusp [very late 80s/most of the 90s] boys toy line that ‘missed the boat’ by hitting during the Nintendo Entertainment System craze of the late 80s. The original Playmates line could have been real competition to the big four (Star Wars, MOTU, GI Joe ARAH, and Transformers) if the Jim Henson movie and it were released sometime between June to September of 1984. Otherwise, the very humorous story of the TMNT is not one that many 60s, 70s, and very early 80s toy fans know or care anything about and there was already one iconic 5 inch toy line by the time the original first wave Turtles were new(Mattel MOTU). Unfortunately, the comedy angle behind the original Playmates toy line wasn’t enough to stop the first ever Turtles toy line from being nearly forgotten by 20th century toy collectors.

[mikey0]

Two Shredders should have been in this line. Pant-less Shredder should have been in the second wave and regular release Shredder with Krang and a gray version of the 1994 Mutant Mobile Walker (with movable clear plastic bubble lid to hold Krang in the Walker) as a second wave variant. The pant-less Shredder would be a collectible for all toy fans and the regular release Shredder with Krang would be for the FW cartoon and original toy line fans. Of course, I would include a DVD with the best Krang and Shredder moments from the FW cartoon for boys and girls who were being introduced to the TMNT universe.

TMNT reissue lines should offer something different from the original standard release. Playmates has been good with this since the first ever re-releases in 1990. Most (if not all) toy companies are. I thought the pant-less Shredder was a little better, in terms of comedy, than the 1988 Shredder. Perhaps for the 45th or 55th Anniversary retro toy line or set, Playmates will offer the pant-less Shredder to toy buyers. Both the soft and hard head first wave Shredder figures are relatively easy to obtain from the secondary market. A new version of the ‘88 Shredder would be an eye opener for ‘88 TMNT toy line collectors like the pant-less Shredder initially was in 2008.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by mikey0

Some toy collectors on various toy site boards (including this one) bring up pant-less Shredder for laughs

Ah.

Originally Posted by mikey0

and the Movie Star TMNT reissues being announced but never released from time to time.

Okay, I can see that singular example as a "broken promise" by Playmates. Sure.

Originally Posted by mikey0

Also, TMNT seems to be the least liked of ‘major 80s action figure properties by adult collectors of other lines because they do not see the value of the FW cartoon

I will politely say that your statement is hyperbole, brother! Because if you were serious, then you are making a significant critical thinking error by interjecting an oversimplification into what you think other people think. There is no way to truly say that adult collectors do not see the value of the FW cartoon. And it's an even bolder statement to say that TMNT is the least liked of the major 80's action figure lines. I've never seen that behavior manifest in my years in the hobby. Ever.

Originally Posted by mikey0

toy line that ‘missed the boat’ by hitting during the Nintendo Entertainment System craze of the late 80s.

Your statement contradicts a statement in another thread where you say that TMNT was the third biggest selling toy franchise (you even supplied a source for this I think). You are wildly contradicting your own analysis with this statement.

Originally Posted by mikey0

Unfortunately, the comedy angle behind the original Playmates toy line wasn’t enough to stop the first ever Turtles toy line from being nearly forgotten by 20th century toy collectors.

This statement makes absolutely no sense in the current climate. There are TMNT forums everywhere that are largely being kept alive by vintage enthusiasts. There are dozens of Facebook groups devoted to vintage TMNT collecting "Buy, Sell, Trade, etc" each with hundreds to thousands of members. Collectors haven't "nearly forgotten" the first ever Turtles toy line basically at all. In any way shape or form or by any quantifiable means.