Ace Duck (Stump Wrestling) (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Neca)) Review

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Ace Duck (Stump Wrestling) (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Neca)) Review

Ace Duck (Stump Wrestling)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Neca) (Neca)For such a recognizable character from the original TMNT toy line, you'd think Ace Duck would have more prevalence. He has not. He had a brief cameo in the original cartoon, followed by a more major role in the comic continuation Saturday Morning Adventures. He appeared in the IDW continuation, and even the 2012 cartoon gave him a brief nod. Then, of course, there's the TMNT Adventures comic, which made him not an ace pilot but rather an ace wrestler. Since NECA's been on a bit of a Stump Wrestling kick, it's no surprise he'd be next.

Archie Ace looked nothing like Playmates Ace, but the main portrait reminds me a lot of that old figure. He's got a big grin and a lowered brow, creating a look that says "I'll pound you into next dimension!". Tomasz Rozejowski sculpted Ace, and he adheres more to Ken Mitchroney's art style than Jim Lawson or Chris Allan, but he's more similar to Lawson's design than Allan's. His "gonna kick some ass" expression isn't the only one, as he also gets a smug, confident head looking off to the side. The third portrait is my favorite one, depicting him with red, dazed eyes and a wide-open beak, lifted right from when Leatherhead grabs him by the legs and starts swinging. The pupils on the default head are a tad too big, but that aside, the paint is clean and well-done on all three portraits.

Ace stands tall at about 7 1/2" up to the tip of the hair, and unlike his toy design, he's a big, muscular waterfowl. His upper body isn't quite as chunky as Cryin' Houn, but he's still pretty solid and beefy. Unlike the toon line Ace Duck from a few years back, his body is smoother with no feathery texture, though there are some small feathers sticking out of the forearms. He's a bright yellow nearly all over, and the outlines bring out the sculpted muscles a bit more. He has a pair of wings on his back, way too small to lift him into the air, compared to the larger wings he had in "Stump'd Again!". His only article of clothing is a red speedo… with a noticeable bulge in the front. I just think it's funny Nickelodeon's name is tied to a figure whose "packing," but it's not the worst thing TMNT-wise they could be attached to (remember the bloodfest that was the Bodycount mini-series?). His tail is sticking out the back, and if you feel around you can tell this and the speedo are a softer material.

Ace is well-off when it comes to articulation, and moves similar to Houn and Leatherhead. He has a barbell head and chest, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, wings, knees, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, and swivel thighs. The joints work very well, and the elbows can get pretty close to ninety degrees. The wing swivels are kinda tight, however, and how close they are to each other limits their up and down motion a bit. I'd recommend some heat when swapping heads the first time around, and after that it'll become easier to pop the extra ones on the joint. He also comes with interchangeable hands, with pairs of closed, gripping, relaxed, and I guess gesturing hands, as well as the same folding chair the Turtles four-pack had. It's more than what Houn got, but now that I've mentioned it, it'd be nice to get the larger wings from his second appearance as an option.

Like Cryin' Houn, Ace was released through Walmart first, but is now hitting Target, a more trustworthy retailer when it comes to NECA. Also like Houn, he's $50, higher than average for the company due to his size, but he has a bit more accessories to justify the cost than his fellow wrestler does. With Houn's alter ego El Mysterio confirmed, it just leaves Bloodbath as the last Stump Wrestling participant for NECA to do… unless they decide to do Stump, Sling, and Trap as well.

- 8/27/25