NECA 1/4 Scale TMNT 1990's Turtles

[a-dev]

Funny, back in 1991 or 92, I remember going to the mall with dad and making a last minute visit to a toy store, probably KB Toys. I vividly remember seeing the movie turtles in their boxes. They looked so real and the details were mind blowing, of course I must have been around 9 or 10 years old at the time, but from the point of view of a child and compared to the regular TMNT toys, those figures looked lifelike with the brown belts, skin texture, and spots. That day, my dad for no particular reason said, "Pick a toy." It wasn't my birthday or Christmas, so I wasn't expecting it, but for some reason and in retrospect I regret it, I didn't pick one of the "movie star" turtles. Maybe they looked too real or creepy, but for whatever reason I picked Fugitoid, a gold robot with red guns and removable chest piece. I remember being happy with my choice, but in retrospect I have no idea why I skipped that movie turtle? It's the only thing I remember about that day, besides playing with my brand new robot toy when I got home. What a weirdo that kid.

I also saw them in store back in the day but I either passed on them or mum wasn't buying anything for me that day. And like you I thought they looked incredibly real. Same with the He-Man figures from the movie as compared to the cartoon-based ones.

 

[Cicada17]

Funny, back in 1991 or 92, I remember going to the mall with dad and making a last minute visit to a toy store, probably KB Toys. I vividly remember seeing the movie turtles in their boxes. They looked so real and the details were mind blowing, of course I must have been around 9 or 10 years old at the time, but from the point of view of a child and compared to the regular TMNT toys, those figures looked lifelike with the brown belts, skin texture, and spots. That day, my dad for no particular reason said, "Pick a toy." It wasn't my birthday or Christmas, so I wasn't expecting it, but for some reason and in retrospect I regret it, I didn't pick one of the "movie star" turtles. Maybe they looked too real or creepy, but for whatever reason I picked Fugitoid, a gold robot with red guns and removable chest piece. I remember being happy with my choice, but in retrospect I have no idea why I skipped that movie turtle? It's the only thing I remember about that day, besides playing with my brand new robot toy when I got home. What a weirdo that kid.

Good memories... I remember when my mom surprised me with Fugitoid. I couldn’t find him at any stores we visited. So it was an awesome surprise... Except with her sense of humor, she gave him to me by putting him under a blanket on the recliner in our living room. When I got home from school she was like, “Stephen, I got a call from your teacher today! We need to talk. Sit down.” My eyes teared up as I swore I hadn’t done anything wrong... I sat on the chair and felt that old familiar plastic bubble package crunching and was like “?” Mom smiled and was like, “I got you good!”


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[Cicada17]

I remember getting my first turtle figures. Playmates had just started the franchise and it debut on the grand opening of the TRU in my area ( man do I feel old ) so they were the original set of turtles with the blue colored swords for Leo. Back when Playmobile and Tonka were popular. But I remember seeing the first series on the racks and thought ..woah the turtle figures are awesome despite having no hip movement , ball hinge joints, etc and selling at a retail price of $3.99-$4.99 per figure

Awesome memories! My dad bought me all four Turtles the first time we ever saw them. We were at Sears and I was like, “Dad! These are the Turtles I was telling you about! Dad! Dad! They have all four!!!” He even bought me the motorcycle to go with them. I really miss my dad. He was a good man who really understood me.
And Toys R Us was the best place to shop for Turtles in my area. I found pretty much every figure there, even Chrome Dome. I have many fond memories of that place. It breaks my heart every time I go into that same store to buy clearance stuff and seeing big empty sections roped off with caution tape as the shelves are being taken down... I wish my son could experience that, but he’s only two years old right now.


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[Cicada17]

It was crazy I made sewer dioramas back when I was 11 years old out of cardboard boxes they were pretty damn awesome.

Your 1/4 diorama is amazing! I bet you were skilled back then too!
As a kid, I loved making little buildings out of shoe boxes. I’d color little bricks and make opening doorways and break-away windows for foot soldiers to bust out as the Turtles walked up the street. It was totally inspired by the arcade game.


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[DarthBakura]

I have kind of the same story as the ones above.
I was totally obsessed with the movie turtles because they had rubber arms and head. It was crazy I made sewer dioramas back when I was 11 years old out of cardboard boxes they were pretty damn awesome. Even though I no longer collect 7 inch scale figures these were a must have just because of much of a fan I was and still am. Time to make another diorama for the detolf Shelf

I was obsessed with the Turtle movies and Ghostbusters for most of my childhood, until Batman and Star Wars took hold deep in my soul.

I could never find the original Playmates movie figures in stores when I was young. Same with the first Power Rangers, oddly.

 

[ironwez20]

It’s funny I never saw the movie star turtles at stores ever when I was a kid.

 

[Cicada17]

I think I only found each movie Turtle at the store once; which I’m pretty sure was just before Secret of The Ooze released. Spent my allowance as I found them along with Tokka and Rahzar. Even then, I still thought the shadowy figures in the background of the movie poster were Bebop and Rocksteady...


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[P.]

I was obsessed with the Turtle movies and Ghostbusters for most of my childhood, until dull and crap took hold deep in my soul.

ew!

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I also saw them in store back in the day but I either passed on them or mum wasn't buying anything for me that day. And like you I thought they looked incredibly real. Same with the He-Man figures from the movie as compared to the cartoon-based ones.

I'm surprised they didn't make a movie Casey Jones. He's always been one of my favorites, yet I never own his original figure. I always wanted it tho. I hope NECA makes a cartoon version for next year's SDCC.

Good memories... I remember when my mom surprised me with Fugitoid. I couldn’t find him at any stores we visited. So it was an awesome surprise... Except with her sense of humor, she gave him to me by putting him under a blanket on the recliner in our living room. When I got home from school she was like, “Stephen, I got a call from your teacher today! We need to talk. Sit down.” My eyes teared up as I swore I hadn’t done anything wrong... I sat on the chair and felt that old familiar plastic bubble package crunching and was like “?” Mom smiled and was like, “I got you good!”


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That's great. My parents did something similar by surprising me with some Ghostbuster action figures on the first 3 days of my first week of kindergarten. No tricks or jokes, just leaving the figure in my room. It was nice.

Awesome memories! My dad bought me all four Turtles the first time we ever saw them. We were at Sears and I was like, “Dad! These are the Turtles I was telling you about! Dad! Dad! They have all four!!!” He even bought me the motorcycle to go with them. I really miss my dad. He was a good man who really understood me.
And Toys R Us was the best place to shop for Turtles in my area. I found pretty much every figure there, even Chrome Dome. I have many fond memories of that place. It breaks my heart every time I go into that same store to buy clearance stuff and seeing big empty sections roped off with caution tape as the shelves are being taken down... I wish my son could experience that, but he’s only two years old right now.


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The first time I ever saw a TMNT figure was in a park, near my grandmother's house. At the time I was with her, maybe it was during the summer, who knows, but while at the park, this kid had a Raphael figure, and on the way back home, while walking, I remember telling my grandmother I knew what Ii wanted for my birthday...maybe Christmas, who knows. I don't remember if I was already watching the cartoon show tho, or if that was later, after the figures?

 

[PoeReyMi]

Funny, back in 1991 or 92, I remember going to the mall with dad and making a last minute visit to a toy store, probably KB Toys. I vividly remember seeing the movie turtles in their boxes. They looked so real and the details were mind blowing, of course I must have been around 9 or 10 years old at the time, but from the point of view of a child and compared to the regular TMNT toys, those figures looked lifelike with the brown belts, skin texture, and spots.

I remember when I was six and my parents took my brother and I to an out-of-town Wal-Mart. Our local store never had very good TMNT stock, so this was the first time us kids got to see the movie star figures in person. My brother picked up the last Michelangelo on the peg and we both admired the "realism" -- which is sort of laughable looking back on it.

Some random boy walked over and asked if he could take a look. My brother held out the figure to show it to him and the kid snatched it out of his hand and ran off. I think I was in tears the rest of the day. I sure hope karma came around to bite that little jerk in the ass.

Side note: Another kid tried the same trick a few years later when he saw me holding the last Power of the Force Darth Vader in the store. "Will you just let me hold it for a minute? I promise to give it right back." Not a chance, buddy.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Some random boy walked over and asked if he could take a look. My brother held out the figure to show it to him and the kid snatched it out of his hand and ran off. I think I was in tears the rest of the day. I sure hope karma came around to bite that little jerk in the ass.

 

[guyver1]

I didn’t get the original movie turtles at TRU. I got mine at Kaybee toys..did I just say that

God I miss how Kaybee displayed their figures back when the business was in their prime

I remember seeing shelves full of Bandai Power rangers, next to that..Toybiz X-men 6” and 10” figures and then in the aisles in the store were Turtles and then you around, the other side was Hasbro G1 transformers

Close to the stockroom their were racks of Jakks and LJN WWF figures mixed with Superpowers figures and Marvel Secret Wars with sales like buy one get one 50% off

 

[Cicada17]

I didn’t get the original movie turtles at TRU. I got mine at Kaybee toys..did I just say that

God I miss how Kaybee displayed their figures back when the business was in their prime

I remember seeing shelves full of Bandai Power rangers, next to that..Toybiz X-men 6” and 10” figures and then in the aisles in the store were Turtles and then you around, the other side was Hasbro G1 transformers

Close to the stockroom their were racks of Jakks and LJN WWF figures mixed with Superpowers figures and Marvel Secret Wars with sales like buy one get one 50% off

Yes. Great shopping memories at KB. As a kid, I remember seeing Walkabout (The yellow TMNT kangaroo) on KB’s rack from across the old Northcross mall here in Austin. I think I literally ran there to nab him. As a teenager, I found Darth Maul Unleashed at a KB in Corpus Christi and stuffed him in my girlfriend’s backpack (I was a trouble maker at the time).


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[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I was watching the 1990 film today and I noticed something that might be common knowledge to some, but I never noticed before. When the turtles are in the farm house, April is talking about how the turtles were all together again after Raph woke up, but they were still struggling after losing Splinter.

There's a shot of Mickey boxing, Leo depressed, and Raph on a cliff yelling Splinter's name...but if you look closely, it's not Raph, it's Mickey, because you can see the chucks, but they added Raph's voice for some reason instead. I wonder why? It would have been better for Mickey to be the one upset, because in the beginning of the film Donatello talks to Mickey about what it would be like if Splinter died, and Mickey ignores Donnie because he's waiting for the pizza, but really, Mickey just didn't want to even think about losing Splinter, hence why he "ignores" Donnie. So that shot of Mickey screaming in the farmhouse was him facing that reality he didn't want to even think about in the beginning. Instead, they gave that moment to Raph.

 

[guyver1]

I was watching the 1990 film today and I noticed something that might be common knowledge to some, but I never noticed before. When the turtles are in the farm house, April is talking about how the turtles were all together again after Raph woke up, but they were still struggling after losing Splinter.

There's a shot of Mickey boxing, Leo depressed, and Raph on a cliff yelling Splinter's name...but if you look closely, it's not Raph, it's Mickey, because you can see the chucks, but they added Raph's voice for some reason instead. I wonder why? It would have been better for Mickey to be the one upset, because in the beginning of the film Donatello talks to Mickey about what it would be like if Splinter died, and Mickey ignores Donnie because he's waiting for the pizza, but really, Mickey just didn't want to even think about losing Splinter, hence why he "ignores" Donnie. So that shot of Mickey screaming in the farmhouse was him facing that reality he didn't want to even think about in the beginning. Instead, they gave that moment to Raph.

If you ever read the original Eastman and Laird comics from Mirage. Mikey does have a dark serious nature to his character. Actually Leonardo has that Killer persona to him and is most dangerous .there was a moment in issue one where Leo cuts a foot soldier in half without hesitation.

The original 1990 film was heavy influenced by E&L stories. The media jumped on NLC , saying it was too dark and disturbing for a kids film so that’s why SOTO was completely revamped not just in the look of the film but in the characters as well . You noticed the turtles looked more like the cartoon representation with the bigger eyes and lighter skin.

It’s also why we never saw Mickey with chuks as a weapon in the 90s triology again after the original film because some parents complained that they looked too violent in punishing an opponent for a kids target audience, and they were worried that if children would try to get chuks for themselves and hurt themselves playing around with their friends.

That’s why I love Neca for doing this version of movie turtles . This was the closet to E & L comics representation in life action form.

 

[Jay1138]

I was watching the 1990 film today and I noticed something that might be common knowledge to some, but I never noticed before. When the turtles are in the farm house, April is talking about how the turtles were all together again after Raph woke up, but they were still struggling after losing Splinter.

There's a shot of Mickey boxing, Leo depressed, and Raph on a cliff yelling Splinter's name...but if you look closely, it's not Raph, it's Mickey, because you can see the chucks, but they added Raph's voice for some reason instead. I wonder why? It would have been better for Mickey to be the one upset, because in the beginning of the film Donatello talks to Mickey about what it would be like if Splinter died, and Mickey ignores Donnie because he's waiting for the pizza, but really, Mickey just didn't want to even think about losing Splinter, hence why he "ignores" Donnie. So that shot of Mickey screaming in the farmhouse was him facing that reality he didn't want to even think about in the beginning. Instead, they gave that moment to Raph.

Here's what happened. Mickey is cut from that sequence because he actually entered a darker place than the others. So his scenes were cut entirely, sans the yelling scene. I've never seen them surface anywhere. But they were filmed.

 

[Jay1138]

Love hearing everyone's movie star turtle stories.

I also remember being blown away by the detail of the figures whenI first saw them. And if I recall, they weren't in stores long at all. I had Mickey and Super Shredder but unfortunately not any of the others. I still have Mickey with one set of chucks to this day. Always loved Super Shredder too but lamented that fact that he was so small and not twice the size as he was in the movie.

I'd like to pick the rest up now, but not at the prices they are fetching.

REALLY want the NECA set, it would be a childhood dream.

 

[guyver1]

Love hearing everyone's movie star turtle stories.

I also remember being blown away by the detail of the figures whenI first saw them. And if I recall, they weren't in stores long at all. I had Mickey and Super Shredder but unfortunately not any of the others. I still have Mickey with one set of chucks to this day. Always loved Super Shredder too but lamented that fact that he was so small and not twice the size as he was in the movie.

I'd like to pick the rest up now, but not at the prices they are fetching.

REALLY want the NECA set, it would be a childhood dream.

Super Shredder or any Shredder from the playmates line was always a chase in the 90s because he was usually one per case , because believe it or not before the internet, LCS owners actually would hunt down the chase figures in stores or they would buy directly from collectors who were buying boxes of figures and sell them at premium prices, that’s why LCS owners used to be called the original scalpers before ebay and the internet.

I never saw Super Shredder in stores..always at a premium at collectible shops.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

If you ever read the original Eastman and Laird comics from Mirage. Mikey does have a dark serious nature to his character. Actually Leonardo has that Killer persona to him and is most dangerous .there was a moment in issue one where Leo cuts a foot soldier in half without hesitation.

The original 1990 film was heavy influenced by E&L stories. The media jumped on NLC , saying it was too dark and disturbing for a kids film so that’s why SOTO was completely revamped not just in the look of the film but in the characters as well . You noticed the turtles looked more like the cartoon representation with the bigger eyes and lighter skin.

.

Yeah, I never read the comics. I didn't even know they originated in an independent comic when I was a kid. All I knew were the toys, cartoon, and movie. cowabunga, pizza, Bebop and Rocksteady, and all that other mainstream stuff was what TMNT was about to me. In retrospect, knowing more about the comics, I think the film did a good job mixing the cartoon and the comic. It was a nice blend of the best ideas each source material had to offer.

Here's what happened. Mickey is cut from that sequence because he actually entered a darker place than the others. So his scenes were cut entirely, sans the yelling scene. I've never seen them surface anywhere. But they were filmed.

That makes sense. I guess they wanted to keep Mickey as the innocent lighthearted one or maybe that whole subplot didn't fit. It is strange how the first half of the film is so Raph centric, but after he's beaten up, the film moves away from him as the central character, and it becomes more about the team. It's like they sat him on the bench for a while to give the other characters more time to shine, which is smart, since it must be tough to have 4 main characters. Only one or two can really be the focus of the story.

 

[Jay1138]

Yeah, I never read the comics. I didn't even know they originated in an independent comic when I was a kid. All I knew were the toys, cartoon, and movie. cowabunga, pizza, Bebop and Rocksteady, and all that other mainstream stuff was what TMNT was about to me. In retrospect, knowing more about the comics, I think the film did a good job mixing the cartoon and the comic. It was a nice blend of the best ideas each source material had to offer.




That makes sense. I guess they wanted to keep Mickey as the innocent lighthearted one or maybe that whole subplot didn't fit. It is strange how the first half of the film is so Raph centric, but after he's beaten up, the film moves away from him as the central character, and it becomes more about the team. It's like they sat him on the bench for a while to give the other characters more time to shine, which is smart, since it must be tough to have 4 main characters. Only one or two can really be the focus of the story.

Correct, there was no reason to segue from Mickey's character. Donny kept his mind busy with projects and Leo had to center his mind which brought him to a moment where he could connect with Splinter.

I always loved the Movie Star Splinter, and that he was flocked. Really regret not getting that one back then.