Playmates TMNT Stealth Tech Leonardo Review

A lot of the toy companies have been tightening their belts in the last year or so, cutting down on paint apps and articulation.  Playmates, which has been cranking out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures since 1988, has been impressing collectors with its latest line of Ninja Turtles toys based on the recent animated show.

Each of the original, "generic" Turtle figures had their own unique body design and an impressive number of joints.  Unfortunately, the supporting characters suffer more from less articulation and plainer  paint apps to make up for this, but it is nevertheless still quite a feat.

Now, there are two sub-lines of Turtles, basically Turtles with a gimmick. Ooze Launchers and Stealth Tech.  The Ooze Launchers is pretty obvious, and the Stealth Tech series features the Turtles in spy gear. Even in these lines, Playmates goes the extra mile in making sure each Turtle has their own unique outfit and gear.  That brings us, at long last, to our buddy, Leo.

Oh, you're finally going to talk about me, eh?

Leo, like each Turtle in the line, is dressed in black with a harness cast in his specific color, which is blue, of course.  He also has a specific visor which can come up.  The face is based on the animated look and might be the only thing recycled from the previous line.

Leo comes with a new pair of katanas, their sheath, a crossbow with projectile, and a zip-line. All of the accessories are new, and Playmates can afford it, because they cut costs by casting it all in black along with most of Leo's body. Less people are going to complain, because it works aesthetically.



I picked Leo, because he's always my favorite Turtle, and his spy design was the best.  My only complaint is that the sheath piece doesn't fit as tight in the back as I'd like, but it's adequate.

Basically, I like seeing Playmates using their brains to get around these hurdles instead of just dumping quality out the window.

Oh, and this is a really fun toy, too.

Sleath Tech Ninja? Isn't that redundant?

12" Electronic Anakin to Darth Vader Review

I know that this figure isn't very popular among the collecting community so I'll try and make it brief.  This is a fitting figure for the new Darth Vader - lava series making its way to stores, since it is clearly inspired from "Revenge of the Sith," which features Vader and a whole lot of lava.

Arise, Lord Vader

First, let's get the bad part out of the way. Hasbro totally cheated when it came to the Anakin part of the  figure. Anakin has Vader's arms, legs, and skirt.  Even the lightsaber hilt sculpted in his right hand is Vader's. But let's face it, most fans would prefer a good figure of the titular villain than one of the whiny hero of the prequels.

The Bene Gesserit call him "the Abomination"

First off, the color changing gimmick is pretty cool and works very nicely.  The button is oddly located on the arm, and once the lightsaber "ignites", then you can press it again to hear additional voice and battle effects.

Luke, I am your..,um, naw forget it.

Once you place the chest and shoulder armor on, you are in for a treat.  As the outer helmet goes down into place, the toy makes a hissing sound, and Vader breathing commences.  It's a nice touch. The helmet itself looks great, not too big considering there's an Anakin head underneath with a full head of hair. From a couple angles, you can still see a little of the Anakin hair.

There's a little sculpting on the inside of the inner helmet that mirrors what we see in ROTS when the helmet goes down to Anakin's face. Some stickers or paint apps would have made this even more impressive.

Overall, it's a fun toy, but with limited articulation, it's not appealing to everyone.