Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Movie Stars

How do the Chinese copies of the classic Playmates line stack up?

The Movie Stars line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released by 1992 to tie-in with the second movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II – The Secret of the Ooze.

The line of Movie Star action figures have been well regarded and getting the complete collection together isn’t an easy prospect but around the start of 2014 as hype was building for Michael Bay’s Ninja Turtle film, I started noticing ‘movie turtle’ lots on eBay out of China. For $20, there were six figures included with an assortment of weapons.

 

I don’t have the original Movie Star figures from the 90’s to compare them with (there’s a great review over here) but regardless, the sculpt on these figures is overall charming and goofy, especially compared to the recent Nickelodeon Turtles.

 

As the Turtle line evolved, I can’t help but feel the figures got lankier, sleeker and more stylised. The Movie Stars line is as bulky as the original action figures with the shorter legs and arms but some awesome details in the skin texture, facial expressions and even the shell patterns.

 

These figures from China leave some of these details unpainted such as blemishes on the skin and toe-nails, which is a bit of a shame, but the sculpt is all here and the weapons got additional attention compared to the solid plastic weapons the originals came with. Unfortunately, they didn’t come with all the accessories like the vials of mutagen, ninja stars or the pizza box shields. So short story, look elsewhere if you’re after complete, collector grade action figures.

 

Talking about the missing paint, the application overall is a lot softer than the original ‘94 release with plenty of oozing colours and misplaced paint, not a deal breaker for me but it’s clear that these won’t pass for the originals. In a lot of instances, paint colours and shades were guessed, like the sausages Mikey comes being painted orange and the Foot Soldier painted black instead of green.

 

So each of the turtles has the same points of articulation as the original Movie Stars line; ball socket shoulders, hips and neck. Very common for the era of Playmates figures, most of the figures are moulded into ‘action poses’  so unlike the new line of Playmate figures, articulation wasn’t the primary concern here.

 

The biggest give away will be the plastic used throughout. The original Movie Stars had a rubbery plastic to give a textured turtle feel from the films. I don’t have an original figure to verify the feel of the plastic but it’s unrealistic to assume ANY Chinese knock-off action figure will have access to the same materials used nearly 20 years ago.

This batch has a rigid, solid plastic that has held up well in the year I’ve owned the figures. The weapons however are flexible and soft.. Too soft. This causes the thin weapons (like the Bo staff and swords) to bend, really ruining the look. I’ve got my figures displayed with their weapons sheathed just for that reason.

 

The final issue I had with this lot is the missing bandanna from Mikey. Quality control isn’t a top priority and again, I wouldn’t consider these figures ‘collector quality’ but my expectations weren’t really high for the price.

 

So for my grand sum of 20 bucks, I got the four turtles, as well as a Foot Clan ninja and Splinter.  Splinter is a really awkward thing that can barely stand on his own, eyes are wonky and he’s missing his cloth robes. I’ve just gone ahead, stole his accessories and shelved the poor guy. The Foot Soldier on the other hand, despite all the wrong colours, actually has a pretty decent stance and good articulation. His swords are wonky and look like rods, so I’ve either got him displayed with the Nun-chucks or I swap in a different weapon.

 

So it’s going to be hard to argue these guys aren’t worth the $20 – $30 asking price on eBay (cheaper again via Aliexpress), especially for us Australians where basic Playmates figures usually cost between $12 and $15 each at retail (that’d be around $50 just for Turtles). Even though it might have been nice if the quality was a bit better, closer to what the original Movie Stars line achieved, I am kind of grateful these guys won’t get mixed up with the original releases. These are cheap, they’re unlikely to appeal to collectors and honestly, if you’re after a set of awesome Ninja Turtle figures to pose, play with and enjoy without worrying about scratching paint, losing accessories or spending too much, these are a great option.

I also noticed recently that my Big W store had the re-release of the original 1988 Playmates Ninja Turtles Action Figures on sale for $7.50 ea. or regular price of $15 each. I actually prefer the design for the Movie Stars line and they’re a lot less common to come across than the original Ninja Turtle figures. I like them, it’s a stretch to say knock-off’s like this are a good thing but to the best of my knowledge, Playmates aren’t planning on re-releasing the Movie Star line of figures at this point in time, but hey, if you know something I don’t then let me know. I’d be stoked to see these on toy-shelves with the proper accessories, colours and a bit more quality assurance.

Love some awesome video games? The Turtles had a couple of great ones! I’ve had the chance to review some of their 16-Bit glory on the Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive here as well as a few of their 32-Bit games on the Game Boy Advance here.