Tall Thug and Short Gangster
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
It's been a great toy weekend for me. Yesterday was the Maryland Toy Expo, and I managed to pick up quite a haul there, along with a few things outside of the event. One of those things was another NECA Turtles two-pack. I know some new items are hitting Target right now, but I didn't find any of them, though I did find something I've been trying to get my hands on. Like the Scrag I covered some time ago, the "Tall Thug" only appeared in the first season of the 80's TMNT cartoon. His name's actually Dopey, but I guess they had to change it to avoid stepping on Disney's toes. Eric Barnett provided Dopey's sculpt, and he looks very spot-on to the show. He wears a big hat covering up his beady little eyes, along with a gray jacket and tall boots. His head has exaggerated features, such as a...[See More]

Shredder Clones
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.90 stars by RMaster007
It's Shredder! Er… Shredders. In the original Mirage TMNT comics, the three-part "Return to New York" arc saw the four turtles returning to their home to defeat the Shredder once and for all, but standing in their way were three inhuman Shredder clones. One of the clones, which had big claws for hands, was done a while back as a figure by NECA as part of the second (and more than likely last) series of Lootcrates. The other two, thankfully, are a regular release, showing up at Target first before hitting everywhere else. Yes, this release includes two clones in one, so I'll start with the big guy. This clone has a chunky upper body with a squat head, but it also has four arms rather than two. The figure stands an average height of 7" tall, and is sculpted by someone whose name we...[See More]

InuYasha (with Tetsusaiga Sword)
Inuyasha (Toynami) - Series 1
Rated 3.70 stars by RMaster007
There's a lot of well-known anime/manga classics out there, and one that happens to be my personal favorite is InuYasha. It has a good mix of action, romance, and comedy, and the English dub was pretty darn good as well. I will admit I need to give it a proper rewatch, though. Surprisingly, the property hasn't gotten too much in terms of action figures. Sure, we got the Nendoroids now if you don't mind "chibi" versions of the characters, but the only proper line was done by Toynami, back in the 2000s when shows like it and Family Guy were huge thanks to Adult Swim. The big cardback packaging is simple in design, but the graphics are fitting, and everything inside is easy to get out. While the back does offer images of the figure, there are no credits as to who worked on the figure,...[See More]

Accessory Set
Back to the Future (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 5.00 stars by RMaster007
While NECA's Back to the Future line started off strong, it's been dying down as of late. We only got two figures last year, but last year also saw a limited pre-order for a NECA Store-exclusive accessory set. I went ahead and ordered it, cause why not? The sets are shipping now, earlier than the initial intended Q3 2023 release. NECA's accessory sets tend to be in windowless boxes, but with this specific set, it's packaged in the Ultimate-style box with opening flap. Said flap depicts the flux capacitor (I believe), and there are shots on the inside and back of the inclusions in use. There's some tape and a single plastic strip, and it's all easy to remove and get open. The main draw of the set is scientist's best friend: Einstein. Standing - or sitting in this case - a smidge over 3"...[See More]

Mooch
Mutts (Dark Horse Comics) - Vinyl Figures
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
The world of newspaper comics has offered plenty of memorable characters over the years, including famous icons such as Garfield, The Family Circus, Cathy, and a lot more. One I feel gets overlooked too often is Mutts, a cute, funny comic about two household pets, their owners, and all their friends. It hasn't gotten too much in terms of merchandise, but back in 2006, Dark Horse Comics picked up the license and did a few things, including vinyl figures of the comic's stars: Earl the dog and Mooch the cat. As of now, I only have the latter, but it's better than nothing. The figure comes in a simple box, but it's outfitted with nice graphics that call to mind Patrick McDonnell's art style. The colors are very attractive as well, bearing a realistic look to the background. Getting the...[See More]

Ultimate Shredder
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990 Movie (Neca) - Secret of the Ooze
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
As much as love NECA's movie Turtles (but not as much as the toon line), some of my more desired releases were impossible to find. That April/Casey two-pack I reviewed not too long ago? I never saw it in-store, and it took me until this earlier this month to get it from a toy seller for cheap. Secret of the Ooze Shredder proved impossible to find as well, until recently, where I finally found him at Walmart. The box was pretty beat up, but hey, better than nothing. The graphic on the front of the box is simple but effective. The shot of Shredder obscured by shadows serves to remind us that he's a force to be reckoned with, and the rest of the box has some nice shots of the figure. There's also only one plastic tie holding in the figure, thank God! In Secret of the Ooze, Shredder was...[See More]

Casey Jones / April O'Neil
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990 Movie (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.65 stars by RMaster007
As we all know, NECA's been doing Secret of the Ooze figures for a while now, and has put out a couple awesome figures, but the first Turtle movie still has some material left in it, such as this two-pack of April O'Neil and Casey Jones from when our heroes had to retreat to the countryside following a Foot clan attack. The only other first movie figure confirmed right now is an original idea: April in a yellow jumpsuit with an in-scale arcade cabinet. I love creative ideas and all, but there's still other characters that can be taken from the film. Charles Pennington, Chief Sterns, a better version of Danny, Sam Rockwell, Tatsu (if his actor's okay with it)… but I'm not here to talk about what could happen. This set has a whopping four sculptors credited behind it: Adrienne Smith,...[See More]

Nightmare Demon
American Werewolf In London (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.90 stars by RMaster007
An American Werewolf in London is a movie that's not likely to come up in discussion, but it's still a cult classic with plenty of fans, myself included. One noteworthy scene in the film was one of David's strange nightmares, in which a quiet evening at home with his family is disrupted when a group of wolf-faced Nazis show up and reek havoc. It doesn't really have much to do with the rest of the film - it's sorta just there, but it's still the most iconic and terrifying sequence in it. SOTA did these literally inhuman Nazi punks years ago, and now NECA's had their turn with them. The front of the box has a cool illustration by Abrar Ajmal, showcasing the four demons with a ring of fire. It's lenticular as well, giving it a nice 3D effect. Other than that, it's the usual Ultimate...[See More]

Pizza Tossin' Raph
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Collection (Playmates) - 90th Reissue - 2022
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
With everyone from NECA to Super7 to even Hasbro producing Ninja Turtles, Playmates has been trying their hardest to stay in the Turtle market. They've done some stuff in 6" scale, and we got figures from the new movie coming soon, but they've also been recreating figures from their original toyline. Recently, it's been branching out into niche sublines such as Storage Shell, Sewer Heroes, Toon, and now those weird Pizza Tossin' Turtles from 1994. Well, three of them; Donatello isn't part of these recent reissues for some reason. With the packaging, they managed to use the same graphics they used nearly thirty years ago, and it definitely looks nice, utilizing a lot of the same elements as the original release. For some reason though, Playmates chose to use a zip tie to hold the figure...[See More]

Demoman (Red)
Team Fortress 2 (Neca) - Series 1
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
As one of the most well-known online FPS, Team Fortress 2 has brought together a large online community, for better or for worse, and has stayed popular even after major updates have dried up. However, the game hasn't received a huge amount of merchandise, at least not like Overwatch or Fortnite. Still, NECA took a shot with the license long ago (as in, I still remember seeing their figures at Toys R' Us), paused for a few years, then spat out a few more before calling it quits. Nowadays, the figures can be hard to get ahold of for good prices, but who says you can't get lucky every now and then? The figure comes packaged in a clamshell, certainly something NECA doesn't do anymore, if at all. The graphics are simple in nature, but they work well, and there's a bio of the included...[See More]