 | Hello Guest - Sign In or New Account |
| Hello Guest - Sign In or New Account |
Write a Review link for that item. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca)The world of indie comics have given us many different icons, including the rabbit swordsman Miyamoto Usagi. While he's the star of Stan Sakai's long-running Usagi Yojimbo comic, he's best known for his crossovers with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, including comics, cartoons, and action figures. Since one of those cartoons was the original 80's one, that means you-know-who gets to make a figure of him. NECA continues to give us great artwork with these releases, harkening back to the days of the F.H.E. video tapes. As per usual, the front is a "fifth panel" that flips open to show off what the figure and all it's accessories look like. Unfortunately, they're held in by those annoying plastic ties, something I wish they'd stop using. The sculpt for Usagi was done by Paul Harding, the same guy who did Dirtbag and Groundchuck a while back. The rabbit looks pretty spot-on to how he appeared on-screen, and the detailed fur is a nice touch. Interchangeable heads are included as well, and it's becoming more and more common with this line. The default head has a expression between calm and serious, and the alternate one is a bit more angrier-looking, with an open mouth and flopped-down ears. The ears can be swapped as well, though both those and the head are pretty tough to pop off. Usagi is in the same 7-inch scale as the rest of the line, but he stands below that at 4 1/2", not counting the ears. There's a nice combination between sculpt and articulation, with a few areas of softer plastic to allow for more range of motion. The flat feet and chunky legs allow for good stability, but don't expect him to stay balanced in some poses. The paint is clean with no bleed at all, though the robe and belt, for some reason, are the only parts with painted shading. It would be nice if it was on the head as well, just to keep it consistent. The articulation itself is pretty decent, with a ball-jointed head and neck combo allowing Usagi to look all around, as well as swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles, a ball-jointed midsection, ball/socket hips, and swivel ears and thighs. Not a single joint on the figure was stuck tight, not even the wrists! For once, it's nice not have to run hot water over anything to get it all moving. The thick arms prevent him from pulling off any two-handed sword poses, but the handles of the swords aren't long enough for that anyway. Plenty of accessories are included, both from his two episodes in the show and not. Along with the extra head and ears, three pairs of hands are included as well: open, gripping, and closed. A couple Usagis got an extra fist rather than a gripping hand, and mine was one of those. Sheesh, was NECA even trying there? I contacted them about it in hopes of getting the gripping right, but until then, the bunny is a left-hander. As for weaponry, Usagi includes his katana as well as a wakizashi (shorter sword), and sheaths to hold them. There's an elastic belt that hold them to the waist, and the stitching holding the ends together snapped, but tying a loop around the sheaths worked pretty well. He also includes a kunai (throwing knife), katar (that triangular dagger thing old TMNT figures had), and a sun hat. There's also a soft goods robe with a wired hood and a belt to hold it closed, and it looks nice on him even if it is a little too big. Lastly, there's a Tokage, the lizard thing that I don't think appeared alongside Usagi in the show, so it's a nice nod to his comic origins. Usagi would be a perfect figure… if NECA paid enough attention to not include two of the same hand, that is. Still, he's very well-done and a figure worth adding to your collection. Since NECA had to get the license from Sakai to make this figure, it's up in the air if they'll do anything else with it. Fingers crossed they do. 2/25/23 Update: I did receive the missing gripping hand from NECA a while back, and I'm happy to finally have. On an unrelated note, the return of NECA and Target's "Haul-a-thon" event has given us a special version of Usagi with black and white deco and a unique window box. Prior to this, you could pre-order the figure off of Stan Sakai's website as a limited edition with a slip case and trading card, as well as various signed options. The base version was $100, and there was no way in Hell I'd pay that much. Fortunately, the Target release is around the standard NECA price, and while I'm not dead-set on getting it, I may pick it up when I feel like it. - 9/21/22   by RMaster007 |
| Cobra B.A.T. |  | Submission Order |  | Gorilla Grodd |
| Premonition of a Premutation | | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon Series | | Zach and Smash |
| Cobra B.A.T. | | Written by RMaster007 | | Gorilla Grodd |
Please wait...
Update Your Review