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Originally Posted by ToTheNines
I’m sure the ‘88 line will win this poll, but I hold the contrarian take that Playmates was at their best with the 2k3 line. I felt that was a quality line and all the figures were way more show-accurate than some of their others. They also didn’t have characters I thought were wrongly skipped, other than the Notes From The Underground mutant situation, but 20 years later they’re pretty forgettable characters.
Their biggest disappointment was the 2012 Nick line. Those toys came out a time in my life where I had just started to have disposable income and was still single. I was so hyped for that show and would have loved to collect that whole line, but their turtles/Splinter were hideous and not very show-accurate. A lot of the other sculpts and paint jobs looked cheap. At least NECA is gonna take a proper crack at it, 15 years later.
I’m not going to include these on the poll, but shout out to the 1984 B&E comic book line. The Shredder and Splinter are hideous, but those turtles are cool as hell.
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It’s the ‘88 line for me. All of the variants (soft head turtles, hard head turtles, Genghis Frog with gold belt, and Slash with bright yellow belly) make them fun to collect. I love how the colors pop (Krang’s hot pink, Slash’s teal skin, and Groundchuck’s red fur). There’s a lot of detail that went into making them (see Pizzaface, Rappin’ Mike, and Hothead).Their size (4.5 inches) makes them perfect collectibles.
The articulation used for the turtles was up there with the 3 3/4 inch GI Joes. Plus, there were sets that other collectors could enjoy (Star Trek turtles, Universal Monsters turtles, and Apollo 13 turtles). Without the ‘88 line, you would never have 2k3 Mutations, Ninja Action, or Giant-size TMNT. Playmates never forgot that we wanted the turtles and Shredder in different iterations (Dino turtles, Shogun turtles, and Toon turtles).
The only downside to the ‘88 line was Turtlemania 1990. After the first movie came out, toy scalpers were buying up everything left and right. Then, the Sewer Sports All Stars, Mutant Military, and Rock N Rollin’ turtles came out and it was extremely difficult to find the basic assortment figures. Playmates stock fell in late ‘91.
You have to love how they shrunk Krang in 1994. You did not even need to purchase the Turtle Party Wagon. Get Road Ready Splinter instead. The Sewer Playset was nothing like Castle Grayskull. You could make a DIY Sewer Playset with two shoeboxes, toilet paper roll, yarn, bamboo sticks, and a piece of cardboard. The repaints were cool too (Warrior Metalhead Michelangelo, white jersey Slam Dunkin’ Don, and Toon Shredder).
My only gripe was when they excluded a turtle or two from different sets (Smash ‘Em Bash ‘Em, Kung Fu Tournament Fighters, Universal Studios series 2). The Movie Star turtles are the best ever movie action figures. The real feel skin was a nice touch. The ‘88 line deserves to win this poll. Very underrated toyline.