OK, this is…interesting. It looks like Playmates will be releasing a set of well-articulated Ninja Turtles figures based on their Mirage appearances.
First off, are those new sculpts or just repainted versions of the TMNT movie toys with new heads?
I don’t know for sure what effect, if any, this has had on NECA’s TMNT line. But to my knowledge, NECA hasn’t solicited the NECA April, Shredder,and Foot ninjas we’ve seen prototypes for in Previews or anywhere else. Given NECA’s generally speedy progress on such things, it’s quite possible Playmates’ moving in on the Mirage-era TMNT turf has affected NECA’s plans.
Treat this with a huge grain of salt, but this thread over at the Technodrome forums claims NECA has cut off all communication with Mirage, and there’s a strong implication that the other NECA figures have been cancelled.
All this is just speculation and rumor-mongering, however. If any insiders out there want to pass along a little truth, I’d be happy to post it here.
dd
I wish NECA plans to release the TMNT wave 2.
They are did an awesome job with them, one of the best turtles ever made IMO!
PrfktTear
We all do, we all do.
Spidurtle
I just want my NECA Shredder. 🙁
PrfktTear
How about an updated Pizza Face? 🙂
Esbat
So… when are the pancakes coming in the mail?
Mark
I think these are pretty cool. I would really like to get a NECA one…but I would love to get a Shredder,Foot Clan Ninja etc, so maybe these are the best choice….but the NECA ones look amazing.
Poe
To clarify, my only personal interest in this whole thing is whether or not it's led to NECA deciding not to continue their TMNT line.
While I do think these Playmates figures actually look pretty nice, I'd rather have the more-articulated versions of NECA. Same goes for Shredder, the Foot ninja and so forth. But it looks like we may never see those now.
PrfktTear
I hate how fans somehow think they are entitled.
They think that just because they grew up in the 1980s or 1990s or whenever, and their mommy bought them "insert your favorite line here" toys, now that they're older, and have some disposable income that they somehow should be able to dictate what product is released, when its released, how its released, what color, right down to the bloody packaging. And somehow if it isn't exactly how they think it should be, they get their panties in a twist and use their freedom of speech to list all of their gripes in alphabetical order.
If Playmates wants to put out blue Ninja Turtles, or if Hasbro wants to start a new line cross breeding My Little Pony with Transformers then let them! If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em. Its as simple as that. These companies are in the business to make money. Plain. And. Simple. If they catered to every single fanboy who has three screen names set up on every message board across the Internets, they'd be hemmoraging money out the wazoo.
Hasbro's Big Guy was named CEO of the year, so they've got to be doing something right! Yet how many TransFans have cried and cried about how the Transfomers Movie "ruined" their childhood. How the hell does that happen? How is your child ruined by a piece of plastic? Funny thing is, these are the same people who drop hundreds of dollars on eBay to be the first to get the exclusive prototype just so they can throw up a video on YouTube and get "credit" for it, a figure nobody will remember in six months.
There are fans/collectors/death merchants out there who the quote "If you build it, they will come." applies to heavily. If you make it, they will buy it. Take pudding on a stick and slap an Autobot sticker on it, and someone's sure to snatch it up, in quadruplicate no less.
Recently I heard a news bit about the "Puppy Cam" and how millions of people around the world have spent over 780 years worth of computer time watching the pups. I only wonder how much time spent by irate fans on the internet would dwarf that number by. And I just added ten minutes to that figure.
-x
Newt
@Dayraven: I buy lots of different figures. I mean, how many people own more than one Superman figure? Know what I mean?
Plus Playmates is going to be making more figures in this line, so you'll have a chance to get Shredder and others in the same style.
@Monte: I originally thought that I'd found the dumbest, most whiny fans at He-Man.org, but I had forgotten how bad the Technodrome is. Everyone over there HATES Peter Laird, HATES Playmates and "pretends" that they're insiders just because they got ahold of a couple of Mirage's emails and hound the guys over at Mirage.
They're the same doofuses who pretty much are responsible for the death of TMNT Volume #4 (Because they constantly emailed Laird with negative comments and Laird was producing the comic at a loss for the fans and basically decided F-the fans if they're gonna be so disrespectful) and they're responsible for the closing of the 5th Turtle blog as well (Because they acted a fool on Murphy's blog).
It's really a shame. But if you're looking for a good TMNT community, you should look up Mikey's TMNT.
I don't know why it is, but the BIGGEST communities are the worst. Hisstank is the WORST place to go for Joe talk, Technodrome is the worst for TMNT and He-Man.org is the worst for MOTU. It's something about when you get more people together it brings out the worst in people.
Ryan
Odd…
dayraven
i'm honestly asking this, as i guess i don't get it… if you own the NECA turtles, why would you buy these? i guess if you were a completist, but i can't see these appealing to casual buyers. and in these economic times, aren't even the completists looking twice?
orionpax636
Hmm. After seeing how awesome the NECA Turtles turned out, I was really hoping for the same treatment for the later, more muscular Eastman-drawn Turtles.
Given the delay, I don't know if NECA will get around to delivering the next round, much less some new ones. I generally don't buy much Playmates stuff, but these might be worth a look.
I do know that I was a bit worried for NECA when their site had been neglected for a while and after it seemed the Ninja Gaiden figure would be delayed twice. It seems they're getting back on track though, with all the Gears of War stuff shipping out and the Gaiden stuff reaching stores now.
I keep hoping for the best for NECA. They've made some good figures, and did some real stand-up stuff in support of the Horsemen. They're also one of the few companies that recognize the sculptor on the package credits.
PrfktTear
I think I'm more excited about the re-issue '80s figures. I still have 'em all, but I might like a few to keep MOC for display. I suddenly have the urge to get my box'o'turtles stuff down and start setting up battle sequences!
Monte
Those TechnoDrome folks are a whiny, self-aggrandizing lot.
These Playmates figures look rad; I have no love for all-red bandanas, but otherwise this is a cool re-use of what does indeed appear to be the CGI movie sculpts.
Newt
Yeah, I'm more curious what the Shredder and Foot will look like in this suped up 25th line.
Obviously I loved what NECA made and I hope and pray that their figures see the light of day, but if the Playmates ones are good, I'll pick them up too.
Seems like everyone was saying that Playmates should make these style figures and when Playmates released prototypes for some of their "music" turtles, everyone complained that they should make their figures more like NECAs. So I find it slightly amusing that everyone gets upset when Playmates takes the fans advise.
PrfktTear
Well, we've had "Classics" from Transformers, G.I. Joe, and now He-Man, so this was bound to happen for TMNT.
These are going to have to be really good to get my money. In the last six years we've had the 2003 Playmates releases, the TMNT movie figures, and the NECA figures. How much more can they improve upon any of those? I'm not usually one to be negative, but those weapons look like shite.
I've been a fan of TMNT since the cartoon, and I got my first figure, a Baxter Stockman for Christmas, but on the pedastal of nostalgia, TMNT isn't quite up there with Transformers or He-Man, for me at least.
Either way, I hope we finally get a decent looking Shredder, either from NECA or Playmates!
Newt
The Technodrome is as bad as He-Man.org or anywhere else at taking something and making stuff up.
A perfect example, they took my pics of the TMNT figure from http://infinitehollywood.blogspot.com/ where I mentioned the potential new figures and posted them there and started talking about how NECA and Playmates were feuding.
But they didn't provide any evidence of that. They just came up with that conclusion because of my Nintendo Power pictures.
To which I'd also add, NECA's license was VERY broad and NECA and Mirage have had trouble from the getgo. Mirage gave NECA to the OK to do ANYTHING they want but all they did was the original 4 and they were very, very, very slow at getting them out. Murphy wrote about how crappy NECA was to deal with in his 5th Turtle blog.
So it's no surprise to me that Playmates is also making some comic styled figures, because NECA hasn't been able to get on the ball.
But from the way I understood the NECA contract, they could and can continue to make TMNT figures in any style that they like, should they choose to.
Whatever the case, this is not Playmates fault and everyone is WRONG for getting on Playmates.
I hope the Shredder, Foot and Splinter figures look good. The 25th TMNT figures look pretty good as well. I'm glad there is a lot going to be available for the 25th of TMNT no matter who is putting it out.