Original Coming Out of Their Shells tour Leo costume

[Sarah]

Im pleased to present this unique piece of TMNT history to you. This is one of the original Leonardo costumes worn for the Coming Out of Their Shells tour. It's still in great condition for it's age. The original bandana is missing so an old blue sweatshirt was used to make a new one. The head is animatronic and the eyes and mouth are remote controlled. The costume has no shell, and no feet because the actors wore vests and running shoes for the live stage show. The green body suit is hooded and the arm parts and top half of the legs are glued on to it.

I want everyone to know that this costume is not mine. It belongs to my friend Jerry (jwiz154 (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=4540)). When he joined the Drome I started talking with him through PM's and he mentioned this costume to me but he said he wasn't sure if anyone would believe him. Once I saw the pics I told him that he should post it, but as he says in his own words he's not really a computer person. So I offered to post this for him so that it could be shared with other TMNT fans. If you have any questions for Jerry regarding the costume you can post them here, or you can contact him by PM and he will get back to you in a day or so.

I hope you enjoy the pics!

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/costume7.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/costume8.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/costume5.jpg

Here are some close up shots of the Head.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/head1.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/head2.jpg

The next pics show all the seperate parts of the costume, as well as the front and the back of the vest.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/costume.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/costume3.jpg

This is the body suit.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/costume4.jpg

The hands are in slightly rough shape. The Leo is just there to give a size comparison.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/gloves.jpg

This is the trunk the costume came in, along with the remote control, the battery pack (it goes on the back of the belt on the costume) and the chargers.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/case2.jpg

[Jester]

Wow....neat find Sarah...er...Jerry. I wonder what the head looks like without the bandanna.

[Roseangelo]

That is pretty freakin' awesome (so long as I don't think of how much sweat must have gotten soaked into that thing).

[OA]

Very, very cool. Honestly not a huge fan of the Tour but this is still an awesome piece(s).

How did Jerry manage to get ahold of this if he doesn't mind sharing?

[Tinuvielsdreams]

I was thinking the exact same thing Rose.

That is pretty cool to see, but a little freaky hanging on the door there.
I wouldn't have thought there would be so many individual section and pieces to it.

I hope he leaves it out displayed all the time Lol imagine the shock when company comes over.

[jwiz154]

Hi Everybody!!
I'm Jerry. First off, I want to publicly thank member Sarah for all her help. It's my costume, but all the credit for posting it goes to her. She convinced me to post the outfit so all the members could see. I hope you all like it.

I'm a little older than your average TMNT collecter, I was in my mid-20's when the toys were issued in '88. I've been collecting the toys since day one and am a die hard vintage fan. I actually joined this site to try to thin out some of my collection, so far it doesn't seem to be going very well. I understand no one knows me. For all the years before internet (yes there really was a time like that) I was usually refered to as "that turtle guy, he buys anything". Word of mouth was really great back in the day and I ended up with alot of great stuff. According to Sarah, I've got alot of great stuff that she has never seen or even heard of before. That how the costume ended up with me. A good friend of mine came across it at an antique show more than 5 years ago. He got it and put it in his attic, but forgot to tell me about it. We kinda lost touch for a long time. So long that he actually forgot about it as well! He bought a house on the other side of town and while moving, his wife found the case. They finally got in touch with me about 2 years ago and told me they had a surprize for me. They never told me what it was until I opened the case and that's when my jaw hit the floor!!

Yes, it is alittle freaky hanging on the door. The first and third picture are from when it first ended up in my collection. The rest of the pictures I took just a day ago at Sarah's request. I was acutally looking for someone that would fit in it to try it on, so I could take some good pictures. Then I plan on displaying it in my toy basement. My wife already got me a mannaquin from her job that should be a nice fit. I am trying to repair the remote eyes and mouth. I seem to have all different parts to the four costumes and not a complete set-up for one. I consider this to be the centerpiece of my TMNT collection and I hope you all like the pictures.

Feel free to ask me anything about it and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Hope to talk to you all soon. Again, thanks Sarah, I didn't think anyone would like it or even believe me. You were right!!

Jerry (jwiz154)

[Archon_Turtle]

Put up a post on your costume on GoGreenMachine.org (http://gogreenmachine.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/coming-out-of-their-shells-tour-costume-found/) :-)

[tOkKa]

http://www.terrible2z.com/coleco-wh0rehouse/sewer/mikeystmnt-smilies/tokk-jiggawha.gif





http://www.terrible2z.com/coleco-wh0rehouse/sewer/mikeystmnt-smilies/tokk-idiot_lol.gif

[Cowabunga Kiefer]

that......is........AWESOME!!!!! You lucky dog!

[Buslady]

altho i'm not a fan of COOTS....it's still a cool piece to collect.

[Sarah]

Again, thanks Sarah, I didn't think anyone would like it or even believe me.

you're welcome Jerry! Im just glad that you decided to share this with the fans. :)

[jimmyjams]

nice. that's a great piece for any collection.

[doomiscool]

Wow! That's amazing!!! :o You're so lucky to have that in your collection dude! :D

[Jester]

Jer (can I call you Jer), with pics like this we would have to be raving idiots not to have believed you. :P

[jwiz154]

Wow....neat find Sarah...er...Jerry. I wonder what the head looks like without the bandanna.

Jester, here is the picture you requested. I really hope you and everyone is enjoying the pictures of Leo!!

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/head3.jpg

And yes, you can call me Jer if you like..... but only you.

[Jester]

Now that's cool...if a little creepy. Thanks, Jer...I can call you Jerry if you'd rather...

[Tinuvielsdreams]

yeah it is a bit creepy without the mask, it hides a lot of robotic details.
It is very cool though.
How heavy is the mask part of it?
What size is the costume? I'd imagine it's crafted for a particular build.

[FLAduranie]

That is frickin amazing!!!! I love stuff like that. I admit my Turtle collection is pretty basic, but my Cabbage Patch collection is along the same lines of your TMNT.

Awesome find!!!

BTW.....Is that a Furskin bear I see in one of the pics?

[Arcade Joe]

I didn't care for COOTS either, but that is very, very sweet. Whats the skin material made of. Rubber?

[jwiz154]

Hi everybody!
I really want to thank everyone for their interest in the TMNT tour costume. I'm going to try to answer some of your questions about the it. It is very cool though.
How heavy is the mask part of it?
What size is the costume? I'd imagine it's crafted for a particular build.

Well the mask has a little wieght to it. Yes, I did put it on the scale for you. It weighed in at a whopping 6.5lbs. The jumpsuit itself is size specific. I'm 5'10" and the costume is taller than me. But the arm pieces and parts of the legs are already glued onto the green jumpsuit, stretching it some. Lets just say, I'm not a thin guy, but I could fit in the first part of the suit.

BTW.....Is that a Furskin bear I see in one of the pics?

Wow, you have a very sharp eye. It took me a while to see what you were talking about. Indeed it is, I also have a small collection of Furskins. The first one came as a present when I was in the hospital in the '80's. After that, I bought them when I found ones I liked.

I didn't care for COOTS either, but that is very, very sweet. Whats the skin material made of. Rubber?

How could you not like the "Coming Out of Our Shells" tour. I thought the turtles were always meant to play in a band and sing!! To answer your question, Yes I believe it is some kind of rubber material that the costume is made of. The head seems to be all covered in rubber. The rest of the body seems to be some kind of foam rubber. I guess to make it alittle lighter for the actors, maybe!?! If anyone else wants to know something about the suit, I'll do what I can to get you an answer. Thanks again!!

Jerry

[Tinuvielsdreams]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question and even weigh the mask. :D

[turkishproverb]

Great stuff. Much better costume than you'd expect for a stage show.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

this is awesome, i saw them live when i was little, one of my best birthdays ever

[jwiz154]

this is awesome, i saw them live when i was little, one of my best birthdays ever

Wow, I forgot all about this thread. I'm really glad you like the costume. I'm sure alot of newer members have never seen it before. Haven't done much with the costume lately. It's still just hanging in the doorway. Someday I'll find someone who'll try it on for pictures!! Thanks again!! And if you have any more questions, I'd be glad to do what I can!

Jerry

[SSSS]

Yeah, thanks for the bump! This is a piece of pure awesomeness, everyone should see this! Yes, I think we'd all love to see all the pics and vids when Jerry finds someone to dress up in it. Cowabunga! :D

[jwiz154]

Hey everybody! I realize this thread is kind a old, but alot of newer members may never have seen it. Plus I got some new info that you all might like to hear! I got the strangest/greatest email about a month or two ago. Somehow the actual designer/builder of these COOTS costumes sent me an email. I don't know how he got my info. Said he was doing a search about the suits and this thread came up. We exchanged emails for awhile and he cleared ALOT of info up. He told me that his company was given 5 weeks from start to finish to build the costumes, when Jim Henson's Creature Shop decided not to make the stage costumes. The original suits/costumes all had shells and the turtles had feet intead of sneakers. Basically, these were changed during rehearsals to help out the actors. Below are some pictures that he sent me. The shell has a space inside for the battery pack.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/securedownload3.jpg

The shell buckled in the front under the chest plate. This was changed to the jean vests to be lighter on the actors during the 2hour stage show.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/securedownload1.jpg

Here is the back of the original shell.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/securedownload2.jpg

The also originally had turtle feet, instead of the black sneakers. Here is a picture of the bottom of Leo's boots.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww182/jwiz154/securedownload7.jpg

I asked him about the hands from my suit being very badly torn up. And he gave me a very interesting answer. The guitars that the turtles used were all supposed to have their strings removed. But they forgot/never got around to it. So the strings acted like "cheese graters". Now that DOES make sense to me. Hope you all like the new pictures and info! Thanks alot!!

Jerry

[RiseAbove873]

Awesome, man! Thanks for sharing.

[ChefMikey]

Sorry to resurrect a dead topic, but these are incredible! I'm commissioning a Michelangelo costume based on COOTS and these images are going to be absolutely crucial to getting it as accurate as possible. I believe Michelangelo was wearing a vest with the tour poster image on the back, but I cant get any good shots from screen capping the video. If anyone has any it would be amazing.

I wish I could find and thank the designer, but sadly he passed in 2012. His work has been a minor obsession of mine since i was a little kid seeing this show at 6 flags and getting to high five the turtles!

[Donnie]

This is awesome.