1990 Technodrome

[Bill]

Behold The King, The King of Kings, there is only one. Back in 1990, the most important, iconic and massive menace came out: The Technodrome, The Gigantic Double-decker Mobile Fortress.










The toybox art was excellent, the image says it all, The four Turtles struggling to stop this monster but there´s no hope, you can even see that one of the Turtles, Raphael, is actually running away.

The Playset was awesome, big, mighty, full of traps, weapons, details. Love the sound that its wheels made when it was moving. It could have you entertained for hours. It fitted all the bad guys or at least the main ones: Krang, Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, General Traag, etc and it also could be connected with the Sewer Playset (imagine if that would have happened in the tv series, it would have been a living nightmare for the Tmnt)

Although many wished that it could have been a bit bigger or more toon accurate just like the Sewer Playset which I have already made a thread here: http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=41707 all must be forgiven. Come one Guys!, it’s the Technodrome we are talking about, the reason why we are all here, the reason why this website exists, even the Tmnt original series owes its popularity due to it.

The Technodrome made his debut in Season 1 Episode 2 “Enter The Shredder” (it is also mentioned in “Turtle Tracks” and it lasted till the very last Episode 194 “Divide and Conquer”. Huge, imposing, arrogant, with insatiable appetite for destruction, We all loved it from the very first second. I personally suffered everytime it was damaged and its last image from Divide and Conquer was too much for me.

Nowadays; it is one, if not the most expensive vehicle of the Toyline. If you still don´t got it, GO FOR IT before It comes for you. the

Here´s a good review on youtube of the Technodrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXJUzIVBJ8U


Here is the Tv commercial for the Technodrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi5tgpiqSKA



Finally here is featured;
In the 1988 playmates toy catalog (Photo Courtesy of Tuboloso) As you can see on the photo below, the original prototype of the technodrome was quite different. I prefer the final product. I only wished that the Technorover that was featured here could make into the toyline.





In the 1990 playmates toy catalog (Photo Courtesy of VaughnMichael)



In the 1991 playmates toy catalog (Photo Courtesy of Pannoni1)



In the 1992 playmates toy catalog (Photo Courtesy of VaughnMichael)



In the 1993 playmates toy catalog (Photo Courtesy of VaughnMichael)


In the 1994 playmates toy catalog (Photo Courtesy of VaughnMichael)



In the 2009 New York Comic Con Retro Print.




Hope you liked and thanks for reading. What do you think about this vehicle? Do you got it?
Any memories you wanna share from where you bought and saw it the very first time? Were you shock?

Thanks for reading.

[Shogi]

Never had this as a kid, never even knew anyone that had one, in fact, I finally saw it in person for the first time this past November. Thankfully I recently snagged one off ebay (just need to find a slime pit door)

Like the Party Wagon, this is a classic, must have vehicle/playset

[Mzx10484]

Never had this This was the most missing thing in my collection, as a kid and still today !! If you get this MISB, you are a "rich" man, i think !!

[Zarana-X]

I used To have two of these. I got one dumpster diving at work around '93. The other one I got at Goodwill for $3.50. I sold them both for some reason or other a long time ago.
Raphael on the boxart reminds me of running with scissors. Shredder in the photo ad looks like he's doing a magic trick.

[mikey0]

You used to see two of these on a shelf with two others behind them. They took up a lot of space on shelves below the Sewer Lair Playset at Wal-Mart. It was the largest vehicle at the time. Not even Nordor, (the new) Skeletor's Fortress was as large as the Drome. Many playsets before the Technodrome had horizontal play surfaces like Pee Wee's Playhouse (which was still in stores then). I remember the Technodrome staying in stores until '95/'96. They were so expensive or occupied.

[DVD]

I have the Technodrome. I got it a year or so ago in a oy shop in town that had it way up on a shelf, almost scraping the ceiling.
The guy knew its worth, so I didn't get much of a bargain, but I did a very nice piece for my collection.
The images above, from the catalogue are great. I've never seen those before. Thanks for posting.
Speaking of which, I've been here several times and couldn't get the reply to work, until today.
Back to the Technodome. I have mine sitting on a top shelf, now beside a lair set (which I got only last week). I keep it closed, but it looks better open, and allows for some great poses for the toys (not that I play with them

[TheCanadiandrome]

I've got two; one was my childhood owned one that i've had over 20 plus years; and the other is one i picked up roughly two years ago so i could have one boxed and also so i could do some restoration on mine, swap out some parts and pieces and get the missing pieces that i lost/misplaced from my own years ago and just cause i wanted the box

[Nameless]

I actually have 3 of this things. One complete that i pieced together from all the others. Ones only missing the mutagen scanner thing. The last one isn't that bad just missing a lot of pieces. The nice thing is i do have 3 eyes which is the part that seems to be missing.

I was lucky enough to have one as a kid and i loved it. Its just as iconic a piece as the turtle van.

The complete one in my collections displays Shredder and Krang along with all my foot soldiers. One of the nifty features of the Technodrome i like is the pedestal that Krang can sit on in the portal room.

[TheCanadiandrome]

Originally Posted by nameless

I actually have 3 of this things. One complete that i pieced together from all the others. Ones only missing the mutagen scanner thing. The last one isn't that bad just missing a lot of pieces. The nice thing is i do have 3 eyes which is the part that seems to be missing.

I was lucky enough to have one as a kid and i loved it. Its just as iconic a piece as the turtle van.

The complete one in my collections displays Shredder and Krang along with all my foot soldiers. One of the nifty features of the Technodrome i like is the pedestal that Krang can sit on in the portal room.

do u have pics?

[BMo]

I still have mine from when I was a kid, Complete and all! I love it

[Dragnskull]

I had 3 of these but recently sold 2 off. I have the third still because I'm arguing if I should keep it or sell it, I haven't quite made up my mind on that yet.

Never had it as a kid, thought it was awesome and always wanted one since I came back to TMNT collecting, along with the channel 6 newsvan.

Now I have both, the only thing missing that I really care to get is a 50 cent scratch from a flea market. I don't want to pay retail, I want the bragging rights of "I got it for a quarter!"

God willing, it'll happen one day.

[STORMSHADOW__210]

I never had one of these,would love to get one...whats a decent price on ebay so i don't pay too much? Thanks

[Bill]

Originally Posted by mikey0

You used to see two of these on a shelf with two others behind them. They took up a lot of space on shelves below the Sewer Lair Playset at Wal-Mart. It was the largest vehicle at the time. Not even Nordor, (the new) Skeletor's Fortress was as large as the Drome. Many playsets before the Technodrome had horizontal play surfaces like Pee Wee's Playhouse (which was still in stores then). I remember the Technodrome staying in stores until '95/'96. They were so expensive or occupied.

It got sense! I bought mine in 1996. I couldn´t believe that it was still in the stores. I was so naif, I thought it might come with a smal Mutant Module or something like that.

I remember seeing Krang on the back of the toybox always saying (Krang not included), and I still couldn´t find Krang back then.

I finally got him in 1999, in a KB Toys in the Cumberland Mall, in Atlanta. I found the reissue of 1989 Krang and 1994 Krang´s Android Body both moc for 3.99 each.

[MST3KFan]

Ah the Technodrome, one of the toys as a child I so very much wanted and never got.

This was the first vehicle/playset I went out of my way to get once I decided in the past year to collect the vintage TMNT again. I got mine for around $100, but it's in great condition. It is just missing the black platform with chains piece for holding captured turtles.

There are paint scuffs on mine that I'm looking on how to remove without damaging anything, and the stickers in various spots could stand to be replaced. Especially the ones for the ooze pit behind the big Foot symbol door as it seems whomever had the toy originally as a child stuck the sticker on the back of the doorway. O_o

I love how huge the thing is. However, seeing the catalog photos above of how it was originally planned out as an inflatable vehicle that would have been 22 inches high (Almost two feet tall!!!) with a bit more accurate looking to the show parts, I'd be curious to have seen how that version would have turned out.

[BMo]

Originally Posted by MST3KFan

There are paint scuffs on mine that I'm looking on how to remove without damaging anything, and the stickers in various spots could stand to be replaced. Especially the ones for the ooze pit behind the big Foot symbol door as it seems whomever had the toy originally as a child stuck the sticker on the back of the doorway. O_o

I have found that you can easily get paint scuffs off of a surface (as long as the surface isn't painted itself) with a magic eraser. I have used it on many toys and haven't see any side effects yet, so I think it's pretty safe.

As far as stickers, myteefinestuff does reproductions. I have yet to buy any yet but heard very good things

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Shredder is seen inside the Technodrome in "Turtle Tracks". And I love seing it thrashed in "Dvide & Conquer".

Was that 1988 version Technodrome not released?

[Bill]

By the way ,if it really have to be toon accurate it should have had the following:

Equipment

A trans-dimensional portal
Eyeball missile launchers
4 trident-shaped laser cannons
A mounted surveillance eye on the top
A mouser factory
Training facilities for Shredder's henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady
Three-foot-thick titanium armor
Huge tank treads
Robot walker legs that can be used instead of tank treads (scene at the end of Season 3)
Large holding cells
A disintegrator unit
A cloning device
Earthquake machine (used during Season 2)
Various drilling mechanisms


Design features

972 rooms (Mentioned in episode The Missing Map)
A trans-dimensional portal used to transport people and objects between Earth and Dimension X.
Eyeball missile launchers
5 trident-shaped laser cannons: two located at the top of the Technodrome at each side of the eye, two on its sides, and one on its front (occasionally, due to animation errors, they're depicted on other places, usually the rear, or more than 5 are seen)
2 large laser cannons that can be deployed with multiple eyeball missile racks (seen in The Big Blow Out).
A mounted surveillance eye on the top
A mouser factory
Training facilities for Shredder's henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady
Three-foot-thick titanium armour
Huge tank treads, used to move the Technodrome across land or underground from each location.
Robot walker legs that can be used instead of tank treads (seen in The Big Blow Out)
Gigantic saw blades and cutting devices (used in The Big Blow Out to get an energy antenna)
Pedal Power Generator (used in The Big Rip-Off to generate a small amount of power when Technodrome was completely out of power)
Large holding cells
Earthquake machine (used in Return of the Technodrome)
Various drilling mechanisms
Motor pool area that houses foot bikes and technorovers
Trap Door in the center of the main control room as used in Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X
Star fighter deck that houses technowings
Classical Japanese Dojo Rooms
Balance control (during near the end of Season 3)
Anti-gravitation generators making the technodrome able to hover slightly above the ground (used during season 2 )
Disintegrator Unit (season 2)
Relay Room
Engine Room
Laundry room
Source: http://turtlepedia.wikia.com/wiki/Technodrome
That would have been too much for a toy don´t you think?

[MAXtDie]

It was rather hard to find the Technodrome for the good price, complete and then shipped to Russia, but I had managed to get it! Even in 90th it was not even selling in Russia, unlike some other vehicles. And after almost 20 years I finally possess this Shredder's fortress.
Thanks, Bill, for the description! It only lacks the Technodrome blueprint, that comes with the toy. Does anybody willing to share the scanned blueprint?

[TheCanadiandrome]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Was that 1988 version Technodrome not released?

which version u refering to? this one:

Spoiler:

if so, then no that was just likely a prototype, like this one:

Spoiler:

[Shogun26]

I loved the technodrome as a kid. I thought it was just the bees knees. I sold it a while back and then last year bought one mib and then resold it. Funny enough has i went through my collection this past year organizing it etc i came across a plastic bag with the original decal sheets instructions etc. I am pretty sure at thia point i never put them on the technodrome i had as a kid. So its kind of neat to have them now.

This art on the box like others have already said is prettty fantastic and i do remember seeing the commercial on the tv.