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Write a Review link for that item. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca)Last year has been a good year for NECA, especially with the TMNT license. Fans were presented with plenty of great figures, and towards the end, one of the two-packs I was most hyped for came out, and said set is Splinter and Baxter Stockman. The distribution on the Target-exclusive figures has definitely improved, and now fans are able to get more much more easily, with some stores getting like TEN of the Ultimate Krangs and Splinter/Baxter two-packs each. This set shouldn't be too hard to find, and it'll cost the standard price of $52. Packaging: This two-pack uses the standard packaging as the other ones, which is a window box with character artwork on the front and photos of the figures on the sides and back. It's nice and all, but I wish there were character-accurate descriptions instead of the generic one on the back. Also, there's a lot of plastic ties holding everything in, and they're a pain in the ass to snip out. Sculpt: Splinter looks very accurate to the show. The face is pretty spot on to how he appears on-screen, but he's lacking whiskers. On the other hand, they managed to do the furry appearance well, with plenty of texture on him. Much like the movie Splinter done earlier, his kimono is actually softgoods. It has little restriction over the articulation, and they managed to tie the belt correctly this time. Baxter is also pretty accurate to how he appears in the show. From his hair to wings, all of the details are present. However, his fly arms are on the back of his body, instead of the sides, though they most likely did that so it wouldn't affect the arm articulation. Speaking of which, the elbows can look pretty awkward when you pose them. Splinter stands 5" at the ears, while Baxter is shorter at 4 1/2". It's worth noting that he was a bit taller when he first became a fly, but he turned shorter in later appearances. I guess the transformation had an effect on his height. Paint: Like always, NECA gives these figures a paint job that makes them look like they just came out of the show. To be specific, they are given cel shading and certain details are outlined with black lines. The black lines on the pair are very clean, and there's barely any slop on them. However, the black on Baxter's wings are quite faded. Another thing to watch out for is when you see this set in person, look for one where Splinter's pupils are facing forward. I saw four of this set in one Target, and only one of them had a Splinter with cleanly painted eyes. Articulation: Splinter has two ball-joints on the neck: one where it meets the head and one at the torso, and both work together to allow a reasonable amount of tilt. The hinged jaw is a great thing to have, allowing Splinter to express himself a bit. The swivel-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, and swivel-hinge wrists allow for plenty of arm poses, and as mentioned before, the cloth kimono has barely any restriction on the poses. There's also a ball-joint at the chest, though it really works more as a cut joint. The ball-jointed hips tilt out far enough to get some deeper stances, and the swivel thighs and double jointed knees (swivel-hinge on the upper knee, and hinge on the lower) are good for natural looking poses. The rocker ankles work great in managing deeper stances, and the toe hinges allow for more dynamic poses. And let's not forget the bendable tail, which has a swivel-hinge joint where it connects to the body. Baxter has a ball-jointed neck with plenty of tilt. The swivel-hinge joints at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists work well, and the elbows are the double-jointed type, though as mentioned before, they can look pretty odd due to how the joint is designed. The wings and fly arms are swivel-hinges as well with a great range of motion. There's a ball-joint hidden inside the torso, allowing for a decent amount of tilt and lean, and there's a waist swivel as well, but the latter joint isn't really necessary. The leg articulation is the same as Splinter, though without the toe hinges. An important thing to note here is that some of the hinges, specifically the wrists and knees, and the toes on Splinter, are pretty tight out of the box, so I'd recommend running them under warm water for a bit before trying to break them free. Accessories: Wow. Just wow. There is a lot of accessories here, and this may be the most we've gotten out of any 2-pack release. There's a total of 24 accessories included with this set, but most of them belong to Splinter. Splinter has some extra hands to swap out the loose grips he comes wearing with, including a pair of tighter grips (for the sword), a pair of gestured hands, and a pointing right. His signature cane is included, along with a scroll, a medallion, two different books, a pistol, a sword with an attachable fire effect, and a little rat friend. I'm not sure what the pistol relates to (I feel it's more of a Baxter accessory), but I do remember the sword and medallion, and the latter accessory can be worn around Splinter's neck or held in his hand. Baxter doesn't have as much character specific accessories, but he has the more interesting ones. There's a pair of gripping hands and a pair of gun grips. His transforming ray gun from "Bye, Bye, Fly" is included, as well as the two he blasted with it, Shredder and Michelangelo, as a fly and gerbil respectively. Also included is the poisonous doku plant, which came from the same episode Baxter became a fly, and his computer friend Z. The special thing about Z is that his screen is lenticular with three different faces: a regular smiling face, a more devious-looking expression, and a worried expression. The last accessory included here is a big dojo mat, printed on actual foam material, and it's perfect for when you want to display Splinter meditating or training the Turtles. Playability: With plenty of articulation and a great deal of accessories, there's plenty of display options with this set. However, the fact that some of the joints on the figures are tight and need to be warmed up first to get them moving makes it a bit less fun. Value: The cartoon two-packs are always the same price: $52. But here, the price is a much better deal than usual thanks to all the accessories. Basically, if these figures were sold separately, they'd be around $30 each. Overall: While there's been plenty of good two-pack releases for NECA's TMNT line so far, this one may be my favorite. With a character I've wanted in the line for a while packed alongside my favorite character, along with a great amount of accessories, clean paint, and good articulation, this is an excellent set. Though if the figures were a bit more accurate in appearance and their joints moved more easily, they'd be perfect. NECA put out a great two-pack, and there's plenty more coming this year. I'm already hyped for Chrome Dome and the Punk Frogs, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store.   by RMaster007 |
| Quartz |  | Submission Order |  | Raphael |
| Traag and Granitor | | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon Series | | Mighty Metalhead |
| Quartz | | Written by RMaster007 | | Raphael |
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