Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Review: Ninja Turtles Basic Action Figure Raphael
| Figure Information | |
| Manufacturer: | Playmates |
| Origin Series: | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) |
| Scale: | Non-scale |
| Height: | Approximately 12cm tall |
| Original Price: | 13 USD |
| Packaging: |
I've been a fan of this series and I actually have quite a number of figures of the series back from my horrible non-collector days of childhood. So, I just encountered this around 2 weeks ago and I was tempted to get em and try em. Luckily, my sis gave Raphael for free and so, here's the review!
The figure comes in a blister card packaging and what's nice is your can actually peek and see if all the accessories are there since you can see pretty much everything despite the designs where in you get to see the new cgi model of the 4 turtles. The cardboard design features a very cartoon-y feel with all the bright purple and green color, which pretty much fits the turtles. XD A city can also be seen in the green shades. It's quite fun to note that the left side of the blister card features a unique shell-like design on it. The back has a bio on Raph as well as how he appears at the new series by nickelodeon.
But as always, packaging has of little value to me, so, it's about time to actually unleash Raph from his blister cage.
| Details: |
Now, first thing you might notice is why the eyes are completely whited out as opposed to the cgi model, well, I've managed to watch a few episodes of the series and all I can say it that the only time I saw their eyes whited out was in the opening sequence. But yeah, I personally prefer it this way since pupils usually don't work well for me when it comes to figures of turtles.
Now I will say that among the 4, Raph seems to be the most out of color from the cgi model, his skin is nowhere near the shade of green on his cgi model (you can see it the back packaging shot above); with that being the biggest gripe I have on the mold, everything else is okay for me although I will say that the paint is absolutely not perfect as there are some sloppy work here and there which are more noticeable when you have the figure in hand.
That's enough nitpicking for me I guess as I'll be discussing the good and juicy parts of the figure. First off, since this is my first turtles review and I won't be able to show it yet, I will say that a lot of the budget for this wave has probably been given to the 4 turtles as the others aren't as solid as these 4; a one word summary for the best part of the turtles would be the word "unique". Particularly each one of the turtles varies in their height, their skin color, their expression and some of their details, that's how cool these are.
Focusing on Raph, one of the most notable thing in his mold would be his shell, this is a model accurate nudge as he really does have a crack on his frontal shell in the new series; a very very nice approach I must say. His expression also fits his character perfectly, the angry gritted teeth was a nice choice as we all know he's the bad boy of the team and is the hot-head turtle around.
Now the rest are pretty much well sculpted but they're not much worth noting anymore, but alas, the details, at the very least, are accurate, the bandages and the elbow/knee guards and whatnot; while not exactly color accurate, it does feature a nice nudge as the shading on the wrist and ankle guards feature a slightly lighter color than that of the elbow and knee guards. Another noteworthy detail is that you can insert his Sais on the his back. Lastly, Raph's right hand is uniquely sculpted in a way that he could wield his Sai by gripping it in between his fingers.
While there feels like there's a lack in detail, you can always panel line them out to bring it out but there is one last detail I particularly liked. If you've noticed in the pictures above, his skin features quite a huge sum of mold details making it look rough.
Now for some size comparisons, since I haven't opened the other turtle (Leo) yet, here are some comparisons with the blog's trusty mascot - Hachune-chan, figma Madoka and Generations FoC Optimus. Raph's roughly around Madoka's height, so yeah, one of the reasons why I also gave in to buying the 4 turtles was because I thought it would be a pretty nice scale with my other articulated figures, and thankfully, it is!
| Accessories: |
Playmates certainly did not want to let this release go without a pack of weaponry for the ninja turtle. While Raph's Sais are very much enough for me, they included a bunch of extra weapons along which you can clip out using scissors or better yet, a hobby nipper. Although, one gripe is that all the accessories are unpainted which, IMO, could've been a lot better if at least the handle was painted.
| Articulation Points: |
For a 13 USD worth of figure, I was certainly not disappointed with his articulation points. First up, his head uses a ball joint and the range of the upward and downward tilt is pretty much satisfying for my taste.
Most of the other workings are single hinges but these hinges can swivel on their connection points; such joint is used for Raph's shoulders and elbows. You can't fully straighten his arms upwards or just next to his body but still it holds a good range for posing. His elbow hinge is quite limited though, just around 45 degree bend approximately but still, thanks to the swivel at the connection point, it still makes it useful. Lastly, he has wrist swivels.
Raph's hip and knee joints use the same type as that of his shoulders and elbows; while looking very limited at the hip joints, his shells have bendy material with them so you can actually flex the joint enough to reach its' mold extent limitations. The knees are bit limited as well, but again thanks to swivel factors, it isn't completely useless.
| Poseability: |
There isn't much you can do with Raph unless you also play with his other accessories (which I did not). But he can, at least, do decent poses despite the limited points of articulation. The way he can hold his Sais also play a major factor on his overall poseability worth.
And despite the limited articulation, Raph can do a good kick pose and because they are flat footed, you won't be constantly annoyed at the figure for suddenly falling down as the big flat feet keep his balance very well.
Just so I could enjoy playing with Raph during the shoot, I made some shots with him fighting Butcher (Onslaught) and also ambushing an A.I.M. Soldier like the ninja he is.
| Final Thoughts: |
So... is Raph worth getting? I must say, if you need articulation, there's the classic line for that, but hey, this one's not bad for his worth; the articulation sure was decent enough for a figure that's marked for around 13 USD. Detail wise, I love it and I have no regrets getting all the other 3 turtles. If you love the series and also collect figures from the S.H.Figuarts, Figma, Revoltech lines, then you can't go wrong with this, he scales with them pretty well and it only takes a price point of 1 figma to actually complete all of four of them. Definitely worth the price and yes, I sooooo love the whited out eyes.
I give the hot-headed turtle a blazing 3.5 out of 5
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Thank you so much for this detailed post ! These are exactly the informations I was looking for, especially about the posing !
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, glad the review was of help to you! :D
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