Original toy line..before its time?

[Head Spinnin' Bebop]

I’ve been getting some older TMNT stuff from the action figure line in the mail this week, finally on way to completing lots of stuff I missed out on and wanted. One thing I'm hoping to get, which I haven't yet and I've wanted for so long is a new original sewer playset. I think that playset is great. So anyway, now getting back into it again and seeing more of it, I really gotta say, the old line really was an awesome thing, and I think somewhat before it’s time.

While I know the original toon vs. the new toon has been done a lot, since I’m a long time reader, first time poster , I won’t go much into that. So just to say a few things on it…..for me personally, you can’t compare them because they are both two completely different shows and it’s not like one show is trying to follow the other with the same stories/plot line and characters. The old toon is my favorite of course, that’s what got it all started for me, but I love the new toon a lot too, in a different way with more great humor and how it‘s a whole different side of the Turtle Universe to explore compared to the original. Back to the main topic at hand with the toy line though.

For the new action figures, I have been collecting them to an extent, but I’m not really picking up a lot, just the ones I really like. Not into it much. With the original action figures though, the similar excitement I had when I was a kid I’m feeling again, but even more so now that I can appreciate them even that much more. To me, it even blows the new TMNT line outta the water. Considering when this line originally came out, the sculpting on many of these guys is very impressive. Very detailed markings and body detail for guys like Mutagen Man, Traag, Mondo, etc and the veins on the Turtles, you get the drift. That wasn’t something you saw much of back then. All accessories, even though the majority were all one color, that many of the guys came with really added a lot and was fun to go through. As the line went on and continued to grow, the amount of different characters we had to pick from was always wowing to me back then and today is still cool to me collecting them all over again. How cool was it that we were even able to get guys like Burne, Vern and Irma! If this was today, we probably wouldn’t have seen many of the characters we did (even though there was one figure we never got, Lt. Granitor, that’s #1 most wanted they missed out on). The packaging/card art is probably still my favorite of any lines I’ve collected. How they all were unique to that character, mostly anyway before the last few series, with all the shots of them using their different weapons, and attacks, including bios, statistics, etc. If this was a line just getting started today, IMO I think it would score and fit in great comparing to lots of stuff out there now.

So, I guess what the whole point of this thread was, while I’m on an original TMNT kick at the moment, to really give the work on the old line a nod of lots of credit and show my appreciation for it. It was great and still consider it one of the most fun and great lines I collect(ed)! Now to look forward to some more vintage stuff coming to me in the mail and the arrival of season 2 on DVD!!! Feel free to post and join in on the appreciation for the old line or to even completely disagree with me….

[Weapon X]

I completly agree with you Bebop, I am an rabid lover of the classic TMNT. I don't have anything to do with the new stuff no toon,no toy's no nothing. The old line was great expecially the first two series because they didn't have a bunch of varients of the Turtles plus alot of good characters came out of the first two,also the datial and accecorie's were great,the vehicles were awsome and at perfect scale,even the packedges were cool the art the filecards even how they showed all the figures that were out at that point. The only bad points about the line were again too many Turtle varients to buy,lack of articulation(bending knees/arm's)witch was something still not taped into at the time,and many characters that never got figures.But in the end TMNT comes out as on of the Greates line's of the late 80's/early 90's and of all time.And now that the old toon is out on DVD and the fact that I got alot of my old TMNT stuff including alot of figures it's like a nice chunk of nastalgia.

[raphael90]

I hafta admit, I think the designs of the newer toon's toys are more impressive and detailed...but I agree with you both that I like the older toon and its characters much better...mainly nostalgia puroses but oh well.

[JaffleMan]

I see what you mean about comparing the sculpts between the new and old figures. Thanks to you now Iv'e only just realised the new turtles don't have veins!! Imagine how much edgier the new turtles would have been with them. The turtles were definately ahead of their time with detailed sculpting when you compare the figures to other action figures out at the time like G.I.Joe, Batman and all those other superhero lines. It wasn't until Kenner's Alien and Predator lines came out that the line could be even closely compared with anything else.

Unfortunately most of the intricate detailing went to waste as nobody noticed the little things like bebops lip ring, the worms crawling on Muckman, Pizzafaces stiches scars and tatoos, Scale Tails Skull and Crossbones etc because of a lack of paint applicatioons at the time. Guys like Slash, tokka, Traag, Scumbug and plenty of others also had hidden details not recognised due to the lack of paint. The new figures don't have any of those neat little features although argueably that could be a good thing but if they did, surely they'd be painted or coloured in some way.

Apart from the sculpting and painting issue the old figures had a better general figure design throughout. The ball socket leg joints in the majority of the older figures allowed maximum interaction between all the vehicles and playsets which allowed almost any figure to use any vehicle unlike tonnes of the new figures like The Foot Elite and Tech Ninja where you can barely get them to sit on a bike let alone reach for the handle bars. We were spoilt with the first 7 new figures which had basically all the articulation the originals had plus more but from there we got a few figures which although having heaps of articulation, don't look right regardless of how you pose them (definately think foot elite).

[Kid Icarus]

Originally Posted by raphael90

I hafta admit, I think the designs of the newer toon's toys are more impressive and detailed...but I agree with you both that I like the older toon and its characters much better...mainly nostalgia puroses but oh well.

More impressive and detailed? Hardly... I understand that's your oppinion, but man, take a look at the Rat King figure, and try to find something that has that much detail in the new line.

I don't like the new line anymore. It started out GREAT, and if they could have kept the same set up for the figures, IMHO, it would have been a lot better. They also need to cut off this 'action feature' BS. That actually made me avoid picking up Usagi.

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by Gwgtrunks

More impressive and detailed? Hardly... I understand that's your oppinion, but man, take a look at the Rat King figure, and try to find something that has that much detail in the new line.

I don't like the new line anymore. It started out GREAT, and if they could have kept the same set up for the figures, IMHO, it would have been a lot better. They also need to cut off this 'action feature' BS. That actually made me avoid picking up Usagi.

Yea that's totally what made me stop with the new line as well.....
it's just not there anymore....
sad but true.....the figures are starting to look more animated series then the series its self does I don't really understand how this could be?

[LionO]

I know the new line looks boring compared with the vintage line but this is what we have now and thats the reality. Sure, I would like it if they went a little more the vintage route but unfortunatley they didn't. I'm a big TMNT fan so I won't stop picking them up and I'll enjoy them for what they are and not for what I think they could have been.

[MrPliggins]

With the old line, they added weird objects to characters, such as huge spiders on General Tragg, and Rats all over the Rat King. They liked to put weird things on the figures sometimes, but sometimes neglected to paint them right. I always remember there were some figures that had such cool paint jobs on the back of the package , but in real life they weren't as flashy.

[Weapon X]

Yeah I always wonder about the paint jobs on the old figures,like how on the pic's on the back of the packedges and the hardcopy prototypes have every single little thing painted but the finished product's are missing paint on the finer details,one of the biggest examples is Scum Bug.

[Coola Yagami]

The new line does that too. Like Skatin Raphael has all his stuff painted on the box art, but the actual figure has a few extra arm pads and knee pads that aren't painted over.

[Weapon X]

Old habits die hard hmmm Playmates?

[LionO]

Muckman Joe Eyeball - Wingnut and Screwloose and Ray Fillet. All their sidekicks were one freakin color!! They looked cool colored on the back of the box but one you turned it over you had trouble finding thm as they all blended in with the weapons

[mikey0]

The original toyline does not get the credit it deserves. Most action figure collectors love the 1988 to 1989 or 1990 figures, but there were some exceptional figures released from 1991 to 1997. I remember being just as surprised as Head Spinnin Bebop to see Burne, Vernon, Irma, and the other Neutrinos on pegs in early 1993.

The one thing that stays with me about this toyline is the way the figures looked with their accessories (especially Casey Jones). These toys are really incomplete without their accessories. Honestly, I feel bad for anyone who has to purchase loose 80s and 90s TMNT figures without the wacky weapons. There was something for everyone with the original toyline. I do hope that some day we see the ultimate original toyline action figure guide.

The joke books, Turtle Quiz commercials, and filecards were hilarious. I must admit, it was fun to look at the prototypes on the back of the cardboard. The original toyline was the longest lasting toy line to come out of the late 1980s. I enjoy the advertising for these from the very late 80s into the 90s. It was great seeing the first banner for the FHE videos, Leo, the Sewer Samurai on shirts, a Mondo Gecko puffy sticker, and Baxter Stockman on a kite.

The original toyline took itself seriously in the beginning when it was more like the 1982 Masters of the Universe toyline. It changed into an animal of a completely different nature by 1997. A part of me wishes that some wave 1 figures were introduced in later waves (like Super7 is doing now). Unfortunately, this was a toyline where some casual consumers wanted every figure from the first wave for their set, but there are some collectors who get chuckles out of seeing some of the crazy mutant friends, foes, and cohorts.

It?s hard to say what the original toyline was because there were two eras to it. The first was the soft head era (mid 1988 to mid 1989) and the hard head era (mid 1989 to mid 1997). I wish there had been more promotion for the figures sold from 1993 to 1997. All in all, the original toyline was neat in its own way. I would say the original toyline was a product of its time.

[wayneepoo]

I definitely feel like the sculpts in the original toyline are underappreciated and ahead of their time. That is mostly to the sparse paint apps many of the figures received. A figure like Muckman had SO MUCH awesome detail sculpted on him, but so much of it is hidden because of lack of paint apps. That is what makes the Super7 line so exciting to me. Not only will these guys get updated articulation and be done in a 7" scale, but they will get the paint apps they so badly deserve.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by wayneepoo

I definitely feel like the sculpts in the original toyline are underappreciated and ahead of their time. That is mostly to the sparse paint apps many of the figures received. A figure like Muckman had SO MUCH awesome detail sculpted on him, but so much of it is hidden because of lack of paint apps. That is what makes the Super7 line so exciting to me. Not only will these guys get updated articulation and be done in a 7" scale, but they will get the paint apps they so badly deserve.

The original Playmates toyline, in the beginning, was the last of its kind to reach toy store shelves. Everything else was cartoony looking (I.e. - 1989 Mattel Food Fighters and 1989 Kenner Police Academy figures), G.I. Joe imitations (1988 Hasbro Visionaries and 1989 Hasbro COPS), MASK imitations (1988 Tyco Dino Riders), TV related (1988 Matchbox Pee Wee?s Playhouse and 1990 Mattel The Simpsons), or Movie related (1989 Kenner Robocop and the Ultra Police and 1990 Kenner Beetlejuice).

The original toyline did not really find its identity until late 1989. Playmates caved into the cartoony action figure phase of the late 80s and gave us Genghis Frog, Ace Duck, and General Traag. Thankfully, the last of the realistic animal figures were still present in 1989 (I.e. - Leatherhead). I feel like the original toyline truly lost what made it so wonderful in 1990. Compare the first wave to the Slash wave and you will see what I mean. Every figure from the first wave looks as if they leaped off the page of the earliest Mirage comic books (including the FW characters) and they are ready to do battle, whereas figures like Triceraton, Mutagen Man, and Ray Filet are too flashy, detailed, cartoony, and bulky. In hindsight, it was easy to mistake characters like Groundchuck for being 1991 Hasbro Bucky O Hare action figures and the 1991 Hasbro Bucky O Hare line was based on the original TMNT toyline!!!

I might have said this in the past, but I am going to say it again. The original Playmates toyline suffered from being a new toyline in transitional times. Users here do not like when I bring Presidential terms into matters, but the first basic assortment figures were bonafide Reagan 80s toys. That is why I love them so much.

Of course, the 1988 figures do not a hold a candle to Masters of the Universe figures from before then. I wish the 1988 cardbacks featured a story like the 1989 to 1992 cardbacks, but the style of the characters on the front of the 1988 cardbacks were closer to the art found in the earliest Mirage TMNT comic books. So, Playmates deserves a nod for that, at least. Also, it is worth noting that original TMNT figures had better articulation than MOTU figures from the early to late 80s. I do not think that the original toyline was ahead of its time, but it was a product of its time. In a way, it is one of a kind (past 1988 ). The grossness of the 1986 AmToy Madballs line meets the muscle bound 1982 Mattel MOTU figures with a dose of wackiness.

The problem with the original toyline was that every child needed only the four basic turtles. After the first turtles, it was a give or take with the character selection. This was not the 1982 Mattel Masters of the Universe line where most male and female characters had the same torso, arms, and legs. If you got Usagi instead of Leonardo, it was nothing like getting Faker or Stratos instead of He-Man. I do like what the original toyline did for creators of other independent comic book characters. Neal Adams, Larry Hama, and Michael Golden should not have tried to compete with Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. Imagine a Playmates TMNT figure of Bucky O Hare in 1991. It would have sold one hell of a lot better than the 1991 Hasbro The Space Adventures of Bucky O Hare action figures did. We might have even gotten a Jenny out of the deal if the Playmates Bucky O Hare figure sold well.

The original Playmates toyline did have a power over children of the very late 80s and very early 90s. Surprisingly, the original Playmates figures sold better than the Mattel MOTU figures. Unfortunately, the mutant allies and foes did not resonate with children of the 80s and 90s in the way that MOTU characters did. The original toyline did not have enough playsets for TMNT to be in the top 5 action figure lines of all time (1. 1977 Kenner Star Wars, 2. 1982 Hasbro G.I. Joe, 3. 1984 Hasbro G1 Transformers, 4. 1982 Mattel Masters of the Universe, and 5. 1984 Kenner Super Powers). I will give the original Playmates toyline this. The toys were a lot of fun to play with, moreso than the 1986 Kenner The Real Ghostbusters line. Unlike the original Playmates toyline, Kenner knew when to wrap up The Real Ghostbusters line. The original Playmates line did not end on the right note (seriously, Dino Turtles, what a travesty).

There are some exceptions to the rule for the 1989 to 1997 figures, but the 1988 figures pawn them all.

I, also, believe Super7 will do justice for fans of the original TMNT toyline. I already like the TMNT Ultimates wave 2 Ultimate Muckman more than the 1990 original. I cannot wait to see Slash, Pizzaface, and the others done right.

[dragonside]

here's a thought.

would you expect a kid's toy to have intricate detailing?
Nope

Would you expect simple designs with less paint required?
Yes

the original toyline had an odd combination of

intricate detailing but less paint to save costs.

I think most kids.. like myself.. considered those.. secret little details that you only notice when you play with them.. creating the effect of wow.. there are little secrets.

I think the new toylines are more about.. trying to represent the characters that they designed. Increase articulation. Be accurate.

Vs the other toys. lets add as much fun as possible, add "character" to the toy.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by dragonside

here's a thought.

would you expect a kid's toy to have intricate detailing?
Nope

Would you expect simple designs with less paint required?
Yes

the original toyline had an odd combination of

intricate detailing but less paint to save costs.

I think most kids.. like myself.. considered those.. secret little details that you only notice when you play with them.. creating the effect of wow.. there are little secrets.

I think the new toylines are more about.. trying to represent the characters that they designed. Increase articulation. Be accurate.

Vs the other toys. lets add as much fun as possible, add "character" to the toy.

Have you ever visited the page of Instagram user Pon Cho Kun? He makes large models of the classic mutant allies and foes of the TMNT and paints those secret little details you mention on his giant size figures.

The page is here. Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/ponchowkun/

I agree with most everybody on here. The hardcopies look 10 times better than the actual product, but I hear what you are saying. Like I said, the original TMNT line was a product of its time, the 80s and 90s. Nowadays, you would have been able to see the details a lot clearly. My, how times change!