DSC_0594
Last but not least, we have the Mikey/Foot Soldier 1 two pack. Why is he Foot Soldier 1? I have no clue.. the only difference I can tell between Foot Solider 1 here and 2 that comes with Raphael is that he comes with an extra gun.
Michaealangelo is the fun loving Turtle, and as a coincidence his included accessories sort of reflect that. Mikey has his Nunchucks, of course, as well as an open communicator, transforming rope and grappel, an extra set of hands that seem to actually be meant for use with this grappel accessory, and a Nunchuck spinning effect. Why they gave Raph the pizza slice and not Mikey? Again, who knows, though I suspect it would make you buy Raph if you insisted on having said pizza for Mikey to hold. Marketing.. what can you do. Articulation, QC, paintwork, build, and so on, again, identical to that of the other Turtles. This is why I say that when you buy each of the packs, what you're really buying is a villain with a Turtle, rather than the other way around.. at least from an engineering and design perspective. I'm also guessing that Mikey and Raph are probably two of the more popular Turtles, and can probably pull the weight of having Foot Soldier here as a partner.
Foot Soldier is, well, Foot Soldier. Meant as relatively non descript robotic fodder for the Turtles to beat the crap out of, he's fairly generic looking. Lanky, kind of dressed like a ninja, and has that trademark dislocated neck that gives him the appearance of a slightly younger Professor Farnsworth from Futurama. Accessories include a pair of open fists and a pair of open palms, along with one of the Foot Soldier's traditional weapons, a laser rifle. Definitely been on the wrong end of these things many a time while playing the arcade game. Articulation is identical to that of Shredder, but less restricted due to the fact its skirt is nowhere as rigid as the dual layered piece that Shredder has to deal with, and his head is designed such that it sits on a proper ball joint, allowing for greater range of motion for the head. Of course, he doesn't look nearly as cool as Shredder does, so.. you win some, you lose some. Otherwise, the good paint work, cel shading, QC, and build seen thus far continues. As an added bonus, the paint on the hands of my Foot Soldier do not seem to have an indication of overspray.
With that, the Turtle 2 packs have all been opened, and analyzed. For their price, they're pretty good, as they'd be in competition with the likes of Marvel Legends and other action figures priced in and around the $20 - $25 USD price points, and feature better looking joints than most of the major players out there in your traditional big box stores. Of the releases, Shredder is by far the best, with the Turtles as a whole being second, and Foot Soldier third. Krang is Krang.. he's a beast in and of his own, and really can't be compared to anything else.
I hope you've enjoyed these blurbs about the sets. While I'm done reviewing the sets, I'm not quite done with the figures yet. You see, there's been a lot of trash talk about some products being superior and what not, and I just happen to have a few things lying around that will allow for a ground level investigation of this matter. But for now..
COWABUNGA!
DSC_0594
Last but not least, we have the Mikey/Foot Soldier 1 two pack. Why is he Foot Soldier 1? I have no clue.. the only difference I can tell between Foot Solider 1 here and 2 that comes with Raphael is that he comes with an extra gun.
Michaealangelo is the fun loving Turtle, and as a coincidence his included accessories sort of reflect that. Mikey has his Nunchucks, of course, as well as an open communicator, transforming rope and grappel, an extra set of hands that seem to actually be meant for use with this grappel accessory, and a Nunchuck spinning effect. Why they gave Raph the pizza slice and not Mikey? Again, who knows, though I suspect it would make you buy Raph if you insisted on having said pizza for Mikey to hold. Marketing.. what can you do. Articulation, QC, paintwork, build, and so on, again, identical to that of the other Turtles. This is why I say that when you buy each of the packs, what you're really buying is a villain with a Turtle, rather than the other way around.. at least from an engineering and design perspective. I'm also guessing that Mikey and Raph are probably two of the more popular Turtles, and can probably pull the weight of having Foot Soldier here as a partner.
Foot Soldier is, well, Foot Soldier. Meant as relatively non descript robotic fodder for the Turtles to beat the crap out of, he's fairly generic looking. Lanky, kind of dressed like a ninja, and has that trademark dislocated neck that gives him the appearance of a slightly younger Professor Farnsworth from Futurama. Accessories include a pair of open fists and a pair of open palms, along with one of the Foot Soldier's traditional weapons, a laser rifle. Definitely been on the wrong end of these things many a time while playing the arcade game. Articulation is identical to that of Shredder, but less restricted due to the fact its skirt is nowhere as rigid as the dual layered piece that Shredder has to deal with, and his head is designed such that it sits on a proper ball joint, allowing for greater range of motion for the head. Of course, he doesn't look nearly as cool as Shredder does, so.. you win some, you lose some. Otherwise, the good paint work, cel shading, QC, and build seen thus far continues. As an added bonus, the paint on the hands of my Foot Soldier do not seem to have an indication of overspray.
With that, the Turtle 2 packs have all been opened, and analyzed. For their price, they're pretty good, as they'd be in competition with the likes of Marvel Legends and other action figures priced in and around the $20 - $25 USD price points, and feature better looking joints than most of the major players out there in your traditional big box stores. Of the releases, Shredder is by far the best, with the Turtles as a whole being second, and Foot Soldier third. Krang is Krang.. he's a beast in and of his own, and really can't be compared to anything else.
I hope you've enjoyed these blurbs about the sets. While I'm done reviewing the sets, I'm not quite done with the figures yet. You see, there's been a lot of trash talk about some products being superior and what not, and I just happen to have a few things lying around that will allow for a ground level investigation of this matter. But for now..
COWABUNGA!