Playmates TMNT V Street Fighter coming this fall

[Roseangelo]

These are terrible.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I feel like "hardcore" collectors often forget that they're still not the entire audience for mass-market retail toys, and that most people in general are not as discerning.

Oh, as a hardcore collector, I know this. Most people don't care about toys or their quality. Even I don't sometimes, and also buy on novelty.

I think, in this case, I'm fed up with Playmates. Their work is just...sloppy. Like I said before, the idea behind these is cute. I just don't know if I'd pick them up. Tbh, the Street Fighter characters are pretty okay, my issues are mostly with the TMNT, the scaling, etc. I also am a little 'meh' that they didn't show who they're pairing with Raph and Don either. I mean...I assume they'll release them too...right?

[Leo656]

First post mentions they'll also be doing Donatello vs Ken and Raphael vs Guile but apparently no pictures exist yet.

And I actually think peoples' general distaste for modern Playmates output - much of it very well-deserved - is making them a bit hyperbolic with regard to this specific attempt. They could be a lot better, but Playmates has honestly done way worse than this. As winters pointed out, they bothered to use different paint apps on the Turtles this time. That's... some effort, on their part, at least. It just looks worse because the SF figures comparatively have very little shading or texture on them. If they're not to-scale they at least could have been more consistent with the paint and general presentation, in my opinion.

Regardless, it's a kids' toy company and I imagine these will be sold at regular retail, where they'll probably do quite well with their target audience, that being kids and casual collectors. Playmates has definitely fallen hard from their glory days, but this is honestly the most inspired thing I've seen then do with TMNT in quite some time. Still lots of their typical laziness and half-assery... but they've done way worse.

[ToSte]

It's odd, I'm sure I would have been all over these 20 years ago, but the more and more of a glut of Turtle **** available the less I want any of it.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Regardless, it's a kids' toy company and I imagine these will be sold at regular retail, where they'll probably do quite well with their target audience, that being kids and casual collectors. Playmates has definitely fallen hard from their glory days, but this is honestly the most inspired thing I've seen then do with TMNT in quite some time. Still lots of their typical laziness and half-assery... but they've done way worse.

Seems like crossovers could be their niche that will give them some profits/praise from those who don't entirely hate them.

Wonder what the next crossover will be. DC? Marvel? Dragon Ball Z? Power Rangers? Sonic the Hedgehog?

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by superstaff

Seems like crossovers could be their niche that will give them some profits/praise from those who don't entirely hate them.

Wonder what the next crossover will be. DC? Marvel? Dragon Ball Z? Power Rangers? Sonic the Hedgehog?

I think they already did the Power Rangers one. Though not Playmates I don't think.

[Leo656]

Didn't they already do Power Rangers? I forget which company did the toys but I swear that happened not that long ago.

[Dpooly84]

Hasbro lightning collection. The Tommy Foot solider and Green Ranger Shredder are awesome.

[Leo656]

So can someone explain the legalities of that one to me? I thought Playmates was generally stingy with the TMNT license, which is why NECA and Super7 only get to do theirs in small numbers and outside of regular mass-market retail? Hasbro is another mass-market retail toy company, and so it kind of baffles me how they'd end up making nice with Playmates in order to do the MMPR cross-over line. Were those figures only sold online, or something? I confess, I don't pay that close attention, which is why I'm asking.

I mean, I guess it's not unheard of. Both McFarlane and Spinmaster are doing DC toys at the moment, and both at retail, but I think the variable there is that they're in no way "competing" with each other, as the McFarlane stuff is high-end collectible stuff and the Spinmaster stuff are 4-inch toys for very young children, so they're only barely even playing the same "sport", as it were.

I'unno, all the rights stuff with licensed toys can be very confusing.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I mean, I guess it's not unheard of. Both McFarlane and Spinmaster are doing DC toys at the moment, and both at retail, but I think the variable there is that they're in no way "competing" with each other, as the McFarlane stuff is high-end collectible stuff and the Spinmaster stuff are 4-inch toys for very young children, so they're only barely even playing the same "sport", as it were.

I'unno, all the rights stuff with licensed toys can be very confusing.

It's a tangled mess a lot of the time. For example, Hasbro's contract for Star Wars has it so only they can produce figurines. So if other companies want to make 'figures', they have to get around that by making them bobbleheads, and the like. I think there's a lot of loopholes they exploit.

[Jester]

Discussed this with my wife. We wondered why Mike has to face Chun-Li. Almost should have expanded the line and had Mike vs. Blanka and April vs. Chun-Li. Heck maybe do Shredder vs. M. Bison.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by superstaff

It's a tangled mess a lot of the time. For example, Hasbro's contract for Star Wars has it so only they can produce figurines. So if other companies want to make 'figures', they have to get around that by making them bobbleheads, and the like. I think there's a lot of loopholes they exploit.

Yep. That's why all the Marvel/Star Wars Funko Pops are bobble-heads.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Jester

Discussed this with my wife. We wondered why Mike has to face Chun-Li. Almost should have expanded the line and had Mike vs. Blanka and April vs. Chun-Li. Heck maybe do Shredder vs. M. Bison.

Karai VS Chun Li.... maybe April VS Cammy, but it's difficult cause April is the token female but she's not a fighter.

Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady and um.... idk... Slash VS Bison, Balrog, Vega and Sagat.

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by ToSte

but the more and more of a glut of Turtle **** available the less I want any of it.

I relate to this very, very much. And I think this is part of why I've segued into collecting vintage, more specifically with Star Wars. With TMNT, I've kept the first 10 figures and a handful of others, but I feel very content with that being the whole of my Playmates TMNT collection. As stuff keeps getting produced with the intent of it being collected, I'm just not interested.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by italianice388

This could have been so cool in literally any other toy company's hands

Yeah, what a waste of a great crossover opportunity. I mean, the SF sculpts are pretty solid, but these turtles were tired a long time ago, & worse yet, these two share the same head sculpt, which has some teeth awkwardly sculpted on to a previously closed-mouth base.

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

I relate to this very, very much. And I think this is part of why I've segued into collecting vintage, more specifically with Star Wars. With TMNT, I've kept the first 10 figures and a handful of others, but I feel very content with that being the whole of my Playmates TMNT collection. As stuff keeps getting produced with the intent of it being collected, I'm just not interested.

Ditto. There's a lot of great new stuff, but it's too much.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Jester

Discussed this with my wife. We wondered why Mike has to face Chung-Li.

Because Mikey is the 'charmer' that would fight her while flirting with her, I guess (if he got the choice as to who to fight, he'd pick her I'm sure)? I don't mind it as a match-up, and I'm glad they stuck Chung-Li in there since I like her. On a entirely fight basis, I think they'd be pretty evenly matched as well. I'd argue that Chung-Li is one of the more famous faces in Street Fighter, so I don't mind her being included in this collection at all.

April vs Chung-Li makes no sense since April isn't much of a fighter in most incarnations, and even when she is... Meh. I'm not crazy about pairing the spare girls together because "we need the two token gals to have a catfight" rhetoric. Karai is a better idea, and they'd be more on equal footing, but... another "Meh" from me.

I don't foresee them going past the four turtles up against the four SFs, in my opinion. But we'll see.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by sdp

I bought some Godzilla mini figures the other day and they were great. Surprised they were by playmates.

Which ones do you mean?

I had already been clearing my collection before geek culture became cool and profitable but it's only helped me scale my collection even smaller. Weird we are finally getting everything we dreamed off but the uniqueness has also diminished making us want it less.

Yeah, and this applies to more than just toys as well.

[Newton Gimmick]

They don't look too bad. I appreciate the new shading on the turtles, definitely matches what they're going for in terms of a SF-esque look.

That said, it's kind of annoying that they keep doing these crossover sets and doing more to produce new figures of the other properties than the turtles. I get that its cheaper but come on.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Newton Gimmick

They don't look too bad. I appreciate the new shading on the turtles, definitely matches what they're going for in terms of a SF-esque look.

It falls flat cause the SF characters themselves don't have the SF-ish shading...

Originally Posted by superstaff

April vs Chung-Li makes no sense since April isn't much of a fighter in most incarnations, and even when she is... Meh. I'm not crazy about pairing the spare girls together because "we need the two token gals to have a catfight" rhetoric. Karai is a better idea, and they'd be more on equal footing, but... another "Meh" from me.

Although.... Karai VS Juri..... that would be awesome.

[superstaff]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Although.... Karai VS Juri..... that would be awesome.

Yeah, I guess I wouldn't mind it.

I hope they get super weird, and include someone vs Rainbow Mika.