Kickstarter: TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia

[TheMasterTurtle]

Originally Posted by mikey0

Try to prove?! The Turtles have missed the National Toy Hall of Fame quite a few times already. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were not even in the first or second seasons of Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us at all. Let me reiterate that. One of the longest running toy lines not in a recent web series on America's greatest toy franchises…Yet, I’m the only person who believes TMNT is lesser than the franchises that came before it?!

I like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also, but everything from the original Playmates toy line to the 2017 2k12 Playmates line is a character toy, not an action figure!

Although the Turtles were on Christmas lists from 1989 to 1993, the character toys by Playmates Toys were never as big as they were in 1990. The novelty of the Turtles wore off with The Coming Out of Their Shells broadway show and the second movie, Secret of the Ooze. Despite the 1987 Fred Wolf cartoon gaining all of the attention it did in 1989, only one award went to Murakami Wolf Swenson in 1990 (Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Cartoon).

I’m sincerely apologetic for my posts and for any offence that was taken.

While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are best known for the 1987 syndicated cartoon series, many fans and non-fans alike see the 1990 Jim Henson turtles as the definitive turtles. The Turtles were, in fact, a one year success story because the 1990 movie sold the toys better than either one of the Fred Wolf cartoons. The Turtles are more of ‘a 1990 thing’ than 80s and 90s lovers would have you to believe. And that is a fact.

Opinion... you know what else everyone has?

Im not offended. I barely come here anymore. It just boggles my mind that you are trying to justify your preferences of other toy lines over TMNT on a TMNT forum. Its laughable. Seems like an immense waste of time. Waste away sir, waste away.

[cinzel]

Originally Posted by mikey0

...And that is a fact.

So just prove it. Show evidences, numbers, articles, documentos. Show whatever can sustain what you are saying. Without it, it's just your opinion. And opinions are not facts.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by cinzel

So just prove it. Show evidences, numbers, articles, documentos. Show whatever can sustain what you are saying. Without it, it's just your opinion. And opinions are not facts.

The Australian 60 Minutes episode on Turtlmania from 1990: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Cs0rPk2aE

Most Popular Christmas Toys Since 1983 Business Insider article: https://www.businessinsider.com/popu...6-12?r=UK&IR=T

Los Angeles Times Report on the Falling Toy Sales in 1991: http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-...-manufacturers

As TheMasterTurtle brought up, this may not be the best forum to post this information on. I’m listing my sources anyway because it seems there are a handful of shellheads on here who are in serious denial of the facts complained of.

[TheMasterTurtle]

I think what it comes Down to is you seem to be the only one who cares.

We don’t need Turtles to be Star Wars, joes, etc. it’s Turtles and that how we like it. We don’t like it because of how it performed against other brands/ shows. We like it because we like it. Because it’s nostalgic.

It’s not that it “may” not be the right forum, it’s not. We are just here to eat pizza and have radical turtle talk.

Cowagunga!

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by TheMasterTurtle

I think what it comes Down to is you seem to be the only one who cares.

We don’t need Turtles to be Star Wars, joes, etc. it’s Turtles and that how we like it. We don’t like it because of how it performed against other brands/ shows. We like it because we like it. Because it’s nostalgic.

It’s not that it “may” not be the right forum, it’s not. We are just here to eat pizza and have radical turtle talk.

Cowagunga!

I’m still sticking to the belief that the TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia should have had a cover similar to the one used for Rank & File A Guide to 4’’ G.I. Joe Figures Vol 1.1 for the 25th Anniversary and Resolute lines by James M. Kavanaugh Jr. and not a look similar to Star Wars The Ultimate Action Figure Collection by Stephen J Sansweet that was published in November of 2012.

In the meantime, I’ll be looking at Collecting TMNT Action Figures 1988-1990 from DaddaRuleKonge in Norway. The information in that PDF book may not have been factually correct, but I like the page layout and images he used over everything I saw for the TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia on Kickstarter.

Jay Lawrence, the creator of the TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia, should have enlisted the help of Chris Nielsen (TMNT Action Figures Reference Guide), Christopher Lee (The Beast is Back), WarriorPins on Instagram, and The Toy Scavenger in the UK for this book.

[funatic]

Originally Posted by mikey0

In the meantime, I’ll be looking at Collecting TMNT Action Figures 1988-1990 from DaddaRuleKonge in Norway.

Have a link?

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by funatic

Have a link?

You can download the 2014 e-book for free here: https://daddarulekonge.itch.io/colle...ures-1988-1990

It’s shame DaddaRuleKonge has not gotten around to releasing a Collecting TMNT Figures 1991-1992 book and e-book yet. I would have loved to have seen that.

[TatooineSandworm]

Originally Posted by mikey0

The Australian 60 Minutes episode on Turtlmania from 1990: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Cs0rPk2aE

Most Popular Christmas Toys Since 1983 Business Insider article: https://www.businessinsider.com/popu...6-12?r=UK&IR=T

Los Angeles Times Report on the Falling Toy Sales in 1991: http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-...-manufacturers

As TheMasterTurtle brought up, this may not be the best forum to post this information on. I’m listing my sources anyway because it seems there are a handful of shellheads on here who are in serious denial of the facts complained of.

Holy cow man. Did you actually read the sources you cited?

From the LA Times article:

a whopping total of about $1.1 billion at retail over the past four years

"We recognize that nothing goes on forever," said Richard Sallis, Playmates Toys' president. "But we're entering our fifth year, and if you get to five years, there's probably no reason you can't grow to 10. The trick is in managing it."

The total is enough to make the Turtles, in just four years, one of the three top-selling toy figures ever, along with G.I. Joe and the "Star Wars" characters.

But any obituaries for the Turtles are decidedly premature. Despite their cooling, analysts still expect Turtle merchandise sales to reach at least $200 million next year--down from $300 million in 1991--and to remain the top-selling character toy among boys, just as they have been for the past two years.

"Turtles can still have a 50% decline in sales next year and be twice as large as anything out there," noted John Taylor, a toy analyst for L. H. Alton, a San Francisco brokerage. "The growth may be gone, but this thing has a long way to run."

I could add a bunch of my own thoughts, but your own sources are doing enough on their own to discredit your points - so I will just let them stand.

For your next trick are you going to go on a Barbie website and criticize the members there because they play with "fashion dolls" and not "action figures"? Talk about not being able to read the room - let alone a url.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by TatooineSandworm

Holy cow man. Did you actually read the sources you cited?

Yes I did. Each one of the sources I listed proved my point quite well. I apologize for striking a chord with my posts in this thread. That was never my intent and I’m deeply sorry for having you feel this way.

Originally Posted by TatooineSandworm

I could add a bunch of my own thoughts, but your own sources are doing enough on their own to discredit your points - so I will just let them stand.

For your next trick are you going to go on a Barbie website and criticize the members there because they play with "fashion dolls" and not "action figures"? Talk about not being able to read the room - let alone a url.

How was I not able to read the room or my url?

It’s well known fact to Barbie fans and all owners of Barbie dolls that they are fashion dolls. That is not the case with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys. Not every wave of the 1988 Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line consisted of articulated mannequin-like toys of the turtles, their allies, and foes. Compare the 1995 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ninja Shooters and 1997 Stretch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [and Shredder] to a 1964 Hasbro G.I. Joe Action Soldier and you will see what I’m talking about. The 1992 Sewer Spitting Turtles, 1992 Movie Star Turtles, and 1992 Bodacious Birthday Turtles sub-lines all lack the traditional masculine traits directed at boys also. As a result of this, most adult action figure collectors tend to forget about those toys. Sellers, on the other hand, know carded 1992 Movie Star Turtles toys go for a lot on the black market.

Once again, I apologize if I upset anyone on this board.

[DonnieLaForge]

Originally Posted by mikey0

The 1992 Sewer Spitting Turtles, 1992 Movie Star Turtles, and 1992 Bodacious Birthday Turtles sub-lines all lack the traditional masculine traits directed at boys also.

LOL...he basically called these figures the G word... Man, he can really spout nonsense faster than anyone can respond to it all! Wonder if he has considered a career as a Russian troll?

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by DonnieLaForge

LOL...he basically called these figures the G word... Man, he can really spout nonsense faster than anyone can respond to it all! Wonder if he has considered a career as a Russian troll?

My apologizes to you, but the 1992 Sewer Spitting Turtles, 1992 Movie Star Turtles, and 1992 Bodacious Birthday Turtles are not what comes to mind for many people when someone says Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And there are adult toy collectors and sellers that do not want to know that the Sewer Spitting and Bodacious Birthday Turtles exist either.

[Cyrian]

Originally Posted by mikey0

My apologizes to you, but the 1992 Sewer Spitting Turtles, 1992 Movie Star Turtles, and 1992 Bodacious Birthday Turtles are not what comes to mind for many people when someone says Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And there are adult toy collectors and sellers that do not want to know that the Sewer Spitting and Bodacious Birthday Turtles exist either.

..........

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by IRMacGuyver

So is there any official word why it was canceled?

It... wasn't? Granted it's been eons since the last update, but it's never been deemed dead, either.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by Cyrian

..........

Can we please stay on topic?

[DonnieLaForge]

Originally Posted by mikey0

Can we please stay on topic?

Yeah, let's get back to the original topic of whether mikey0 likes Space Cadet Raph or not (SPOILER: he doesn't). That's what every post in every topic should ultimately be about!

We honestly don't really know how good or bad this book is going to be. We backed it because it looked like a fun compilation of info, and I don't know why you keep insinuating it doesn't pay tribute to all lines, because I'm pretty sure it does. Not just the original run, but the 2K3 series, and everything else up until publication as well. It's not meant to be a pricing guide or a definitive archive of packaging photos, although supposedly they tried to get as many as they could from members of the community. IMO it was meant to be a coffee table tribute to TMNT collectibles from the beginning through 2018, that is what I paid for anyway. Hope it shows up before I die.

[I Crave Pizza No More]

Originally Posted by DonnieLaForge

Hope it shows up before I die.

+1

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by DonnieLaForge

We honestly don't really know how good or bad this book is going to be. We backed it because it looked like a fun compilation of info, and I don't know why you keep insinuating it doesn't pay tribute to all lines, because I'm pretty sure it does. Not just the original run, but the 2K3 series, and everything else up until publication as well. It's not meant to be a pricing guide or a definitive archive of packaging photos, although supposedly they tried to get as many as they could from members of the community. IMO it was meant to be a coffee table tribute to TMNT collectibles from the beginning through 2018, that is what I paid for anyway. Hope it shows up before I die.

The TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia does not pay tribute to the original 1988 Playmates toy line in the way it that could, but that is not what the authors were going for by making this encyclopedia. My dream of there being an Official Ultimate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Retro Action Figure and Memorabilia Collectors Guide that is a notch above the Visionaries Collectors Guide and the guides released by author Mark Bellomo for vintage Kenner Star Wars, Hasbro G.I. Joe A Real American Hero, and G1 Transformers is just that, a dream. It would take too much time to make this dream Official Ultimate TMNT Retro Action Figure and Memorabilia Collectors Guide of mine. For that reason alone, it will not ever exist.

The TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia is perfect for what it supposed to be to most of the general US population - a resource book of TMNT toys sold from mid 1988 to sometime in 2017.

I hope more copies of the TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia are published and delivered to everyone who wants one, also.

[cinzel]

Originally Posted by mikey0

The TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia does not pay tribute to the original 1988 Playmates toy line in the way it that could

It doesn't pay tribute to anything. There is no TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia and I don't know if there will ever be. Sigh

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by cinzel

It doesn't pay tribute to anything. There is no TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia and I don't know if there will ever be. Sigh

The sample pages of TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia on Kickstarter reminded me of the LEGO Star Wars The Visual Dictionary book. Still, I prefer the TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia to the World of Springfield Encyclopedia Unofficial Guide that was on Kickstarter last year. As someone who thought the 1988, 1989, and a few of the 1990 Playmates Turtles toys were awesome, I cannot help but think that shellheads deserve better than the TMNT Action Figure Encyclopedia. The Collecting TMNT Action Figures 1988 to 1990 by DaddaRuleKonge is the best there is for now. The e-book for Collecting TMNT Action Figures 1988 to 1990 can be found here: https://daddarulekonge.itch.io/colle...ures-1988-1990

[RaphaelinSTL]

I still can't believe this damn thing isn't out yet and we haven't had any updates since October of last year.

My first time pledging to something on Kickstarter and it had to be THIS.