Wrapping Up Christmas 2022

Now that I am a parent Christmas is mostly all about making the kids happy and helping Santa get them the toys that were on their list. There is nothing like seeing their little faces light up on that special December morning...even if it's at 4am. I guess that's karma, but every year I still look forward to unwrapping my own gifts from my kids & wife. They always do a great job of getting me some sweet presents and this year they did not disappoint. I know it's a little late but let's look behind the wrapping paper and see what goodies were under the tree for me in 2022!

NECA Black & White Shredder figure

I received the NECA set of 4 Black & White Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles years ago as a birthday gift from my wife, so when I saw that NECA was releasing a Black & White Shredder to compliment those previous TMNT figures, I immediately added it to my "Want" list! Unfortunately, NECA made getting this figure a bit of a hassle. These were part of the "AutoT" series of figures. In order to get your physical Shredder, you needed to go to Walmart, find the AutoT package, buy the code, go to a website, enter the code and then wait weeks for NECA to send you your figure. Pretty convoluted, but well worth the wait. This figure is amazing, and I was happy to finally receive it on Christmas morning. One cool thing about the AutoT experience is the fact that everyone has the chance to receive an autograph from TMNT co-creator, Kevin Eastman. I did not get one of these randomly packed autographs, but hey, at least there was a chance.

Playmates Toon Turtles 4-Pack

I never had these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures when they were first released back in the 80's. By that point I had already amassed several variations of each Turtle, so getting these was not high on my priority list. Man did I miss out! I love the action features on these figures and the retro packaging really takes me back to perusing the toy aisle at our local department store, Toys R' Us, Child World or KB Toy store. The commercial for these toys really shows how cool they actually are! You can view that below.

It was another great Christmas filled with family, fun and of course presents. I hope you all had an AWESOME holiday and look forward to the new year. Thanks for reading!

Silly Rabbit!

 Finally found a Usagi Yojimbo at Target! I'll call this an early birthday present for myself!!! Love this character

WINNER! WINNER!

 Look what came in the mail! Thanks again Grouchy Godzilla!! These are Awesome!

The Hunt Continues!

 DANG! No Fugitoid!!

These go for how much!?

 Saw these B&W Turtles going for around $1,500 a set on ebay! Are they really worth that much right now?

NECA Turtles

 Took a while, but I finally tracked these beauties down! Now I gotta find space to display them!!!

What Up NECA?

 Just tried ordering the NECA Baby TMNT figures from their site and while entering my info, it told me my order can't be completed because they don't deliver to where I live. I live in America, shouldn't that be good enough? Anyone else have this problem?

40th Birthday Roundup!

This past weekend was my 40th birthday. I'm not ashamed to say that. I feel great, I have an amazing family, good job and most excellent comic book collection. What else could anyone ask for in life? As usual my family spoiled me with some fabulous gifts including shirts, DVDs and collectibles. Let's take a look under the wrapping paper and see what TMNT items I was given this year!

Musical Mutagen Tour Set

I have been wanting this set for a long time and my wife spotted it at Target early in the month and set it aside for my birthday! I love the guitar picks, souvenir ticket and concert lanyard! They are so cool! The shirt on the other hand was a little bit of a disappointment. Unlike the Funko shirt form the Dustin set, this one was stif and seemed to feel almost waxy on the inside of the shirt. I wonder if this is due to the screen printing on the shirt? Has anyone else had this issue? Maybe it will be nicer after I give it a good wash? I still love that all these decades later the "Coming Out of Their Shells Tour" is finally getting some respect. If you missed it back in the day, you can view the entire special below. That's my birthday gift to you...ENJOY!!!

Musical Mutagen Tour!

 Finally found one! The size is a little big for me (would rather have a large), but this is the only Musical Mutagen Tour box I've seen in the wild!

NECA Classic Ninja Turtles

Didn't really have too much time to plan out anything new for this week to blog about, so I figured I would just show off some of my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures in my collection. The NECA produced TMNT figures from 2008. These figures were created to mimic their original appearance in the early 80s Mirage Studios comic books. I think they did a pretty good job of that. From what I've seen they were released several different ways. As a Black & White variant box set, standard card backed figures and the tube figures you will see below. The sculpting is excellent and I love the little details you can see in each figure. These were done by a true fan and I am glad I made them part of my ever growing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection! Now on to the photos!!!

(Black & White Box Set Back)

(Donatello)

 (Leonardo)

 (Michelangelo)

 (Raphael)

(Tube Packaging Back)

NECA Black & White

Just showing off these RADICAL Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures by NECA! An EXCELLENT part of my TMNT collection!

Got me some issues

Been trying to upload pictures of my NECA Ninja Turtles for a post to my blog today, but the damn things don't want to load for some reason! Oh well, maybe I'll have it ready for next week?

NECA Konami Turtles!

I may be a little late to the game on this one, but NECA will be releasing 2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles boxed sets based on the classic 1989 Konami arcade game! I must have these! Unfortunately, they will only be released as exclusives at this year's San Diego Comic Con. So this means that I, or the average Turtle fan will have to pay a premium to scalpers on ebay if we want the chance to own these beautiful figures.

One figure 4-pack will include the 4 Turtles, while the other includes 3 Foot Soldiers (Purple: Generic Foot, White: Knife/Sword Foot & Orange: Shuriken/Machine Gun Foot) and Shredder in all his 16-bit glory! Here is the description of the figures from NECA:

 "Cowabunga, dude! This SDCC-exclusive box set is based on the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4-player co-op arcade game and features brand new figure sculpts and deluxe packaging. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael stand approximately 6” tall and feature over 30 points of articulation, including double knee joints to fully showcase their mastery of the martial arts. Special paint deco reflects the Turtles’ in-game appearance. The box set is packed with accessories, including signature weapons, interchangeable hands, pizza power-up and more. The set comes in gorgeous, display-friendly 5th panel window box packaging that re-creates the look of the actual arcade cabinet!"

Seeing these made the memories flood back. Not to brag but, me and my brother beat the entire game at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. The whole time we were freaking the Foot and mangling Mousers on our way to save April, kids were watching and waiting to see what would happen on the next cut scene. It was so satisfying to see the Technodrome totaled at the end. We felt like super stars that evening. I don't believe that these toys will ever make it to retail shelves, but I will hold out hope. For more info, pics and a video visit the NECA website by clicking HERE.