Category Archives: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder…SpartanNerd unboxing and review

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Note: Packaging photos on this review are from the day I recorded the YouTube video review.

I was gifted both Origins Cartoon Collection Catra and Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man, both excellent figures and my “jumping on” point for Mattel’s Origins line. Originally I thought I might collect the WWEternia figures, but then I didn’t. And then the Origins line proper, but I went for Masterverse, a scale and detail I still think is more my type. When the Turtles of Grayskull line was announced, it was just wacky enough that I thought I might get them all. But then I didn’t…opting for more Masterverse and Mythic Legions figures instead. And I pretty much just ignored it after that until I was gifted He-Man.

It felt awkward though, not to have any other figures from the line…especially bad guys. But then I saw Skele-Shredder, who was also on sale as a part of the end-of-the-year sale for Club Grayskull, and I picked this up along with Sharella.

Did I make a good choice?

PACKAGING

Just so you know…it is totally worth looking at the unboxing video.

This really blurs the line between playset and packaging. Kind of like the GI Joe Classified series Cold Slither set. Just the same, here are some shots of what is just in the shipper box. It wasn’t cellophane wrapped or anything…just covered in tissue paper.

Skele-Shredder is sitting on his throne in blister plastic. you can see his two display heads and his spikes. The “skull”comes up…it is it’s own separate sliding box top, and the door (which is a jaw) comes down.

The back…This box becomes a prison cell, making it into a dungeon!

Terrific packaging…the best I have seen in the Origins line. Granted I don’t have much, but really what could be better? There are mutagen ooze details all around it as well.

FIGURE REVIEW

Not only am I showing off what you get in the package, but also my collection of Dark Horse Turtles of Grayskull comics.

What do you get in the package?

  • Minicomic “Havoc is Afoot”
  • Skele-Shredder action figure
  • Two alternate heads
  • Bone ninja claws
  • Ninja Havoc bladed bo staff. (Not actually sure what it’s called.)
  • Throne
  • Foot Clan flag
  • Havoc flag

The word is that this is the final figure for the Turtles of Grayskull line, and that Mattel wanted to “go out with a bang.” They certainly did!

The figure is painted with the black, purple, and blue “evil” palette that we expect to see for Skeletor and Shredder, with some bony weapon details. You can remove the claws, but the bony shin guards are sculpted on to the boots.

There is a cowl with a soft-goods cape, but I had a problem upon opening my figure. The paint on his shoulder wasn’t dry! And so some of that paint has rubbed off on the underside of the collar…not a big deal. And some got on my finger. I have been doing this hobby for years and years…AND I also opened up practically all of my own children’s toys when they were little kids. I have never seen wet paint on an action figure.

Skele-Shredder has two peg holes on the back of his armor, but it isn’t clear what these are for. He didn’t come with any accessory to slot into those. I thought the flags might have some way, but it just isn’t so. (After thinking about it, it is to add wings from other figures that have been released).

The most notable thing about this actual figure is the options for a head. The stock head is a metal skull mask with a samurai crown, reminiscent of the band Slipknot. Another head is similar, but has a red crown and this is intended to be Shredder, while the other head is yellow with a green crown, intended to be Skeletor. I prefer the metal “stock” head over both of the others. I find it a problem that Skeletor’s head doesn’t have an articulated jaw. He has a permanent open mouth smile.

His articulation is exactly what you would expect…it is the same as Stealth Ninja He-Man and Cartoon Collection Faker. Here’s the list anyway: ball-joint head, rotating shoulders that are ball-on-a-peg, swivel wrists, waist twist, ball-on-peg legs, hinged knees, rotation at the boot cut, and rocker ankles.

“Our articulation is the same, and our parts are swappable. But that’s all we have in common!” PICTURED: Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man and Skele-Shredder, both from the Origins line.

The overall effect of the figure is a perfect combination of Skeletor and Shredder, exactly like his name implies.

ACCESSORIES

The throne. So this is a big draw, and one of the reasons I wanted to get the figure. This is a perfect combination of bony details and metal details. (The toys is made of plastic…references to metal and bone are referring to how the materials look). Most of the chair is made of metal, with a brass or gold outline and a large helmet sitting on top. (This helmet can also be an alternate head for the figure!). The rib cage behind the chair is made of metal blades, and these are all on a movable joint so that you can move them to fit your taste. The armrests of the chair are bone, and there are also two stands for the alternate hands or for storing the ninja spikes. The seat of the chair is sculpted like it is covered in fur, and there is a platform with peg holes for action figure feet beneath the chair.

There are two flags, and these peg in to octagonal holes on either side of the chair. The flag poles are cylindrical, so…(This is a puzzling design.). The only “problem” with this chair is that it is made of thin plastic. I had a hard time getting that helmet attached…I was afraid I would break something by applying too much pressure. Likewise the flags are also flimsy stuff.

For weapons, the claws are removable. These are bent, but don’t look too bad. The main weapon here is the combination ninja spear and Havoc staff. It looks like a cool asian medieval weapon, but with large green skull embedded. There is a mace sculpted to the bottom of the pole, giving it a second business end. Unfortunately, it is kind of loose in Skele-Shredder’s hands.

This box is by itself an awesome accessory. Who is throwing this away or mutilating it? I cut up a lot of packages lately to make backdrops, but not this one.

The Minicomic…here is a picture of the cover along with Sharella’s comic. The story…a follow up to Stealth-Ninja He-Man’s comic that kind of ends on a cliffhanger. An odd choice if indeed this is the end of the Turtles of Grayskull line. (You can find my review of Sharella here).

PHOTOS

“I already took out one robotic turtle, now it’s your turn!” PICTURED: Heatboys Donatello fighting Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder. He has already defeated Super7 Ultimates! Metal Head. I thought Grayskull and New York might as well be together…it already happened in Los Angeles! My review of Heatboys Donatello is very in-depth.

He looks so wacky. That’s why I love this line! And he is a great villain for just about anybody.

“Tonight I dine on Monkey King soup!” PICTURED: Figura Obscura Monkey King vs. Skele-Shredder. I said back when I reviewed the Monkey King that I thought he would work well with Ninja Turtles. But I wasn’t thinking about this.
“I should pay someone to invent robots to deal with your kind! Or maybe just bully them.” PICTURED: Figura Obscura Mouse King vs Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder. I don’t have a Master Splinter figure, but this can work. I expect a re-color of the Mouse King will be released that might be more Splinter-esque.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF TURTLES OF GRAYSKULL SKELE-SHREDDER

Skele-Shredder isn’t that recognizable. If you didn’t know his name…try it. Who is he?

He is heads above the other Origins figures I have, which aren’t many. (Cartoon Collection Prince Adam and Cringer, Faker, and Catra. Powers of Grayskull Sharella. Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man. These are all I have.). Cringer and Adam might beat him for the “feels” points in my grading system. BUT. I got him to be a villain for exposed toes He-Man. But if he was found at a flea market with no package…would you know who he is?

That package is terrific! The paint is still wet (I’m typing this three weeks after opening it). But he looks great fighting people that aren’t necessarily He-Man or TMNT. He has plenty of accessories and lots of display options. In fact, he is everything that Sharella is not as far as an action figure, and I awarded her only 4/5.

PICTURED: My new Origins and Vintage diorama has Skele-Shredder in the center between the good guys and the bad guys. (Not pictured, Sharella, who is too far over beside the armor-less Man-At-Arms…)

So I award Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

TMNT Metalhead Ultimate by Super7- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review (plus my first REACTION figures.)

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So I had these “Mummy Bucks” burning a hole in my pocket. And then on Valentines Day, they said, “Order any two items and get 15% off!” And so I positively was ready to double up on the savings. $15 of Mummy bucks from purchasing the Ultimate Cobra BAT and Pre-Ordering Conan the Barbarian, plus 15% off…

I began looking at either Bebop and Rocksteady ultimate figures, or Donatello and Metalhead.

I decided on the evil duo…only to be told basically that the mummy bucks are not actually a gift certificate. BOOOOO!!! I couldn’t stack the offers. BOOO!! BOOOO!!!

I wound up ordering April Ludgate and Andy Dwyer Reaction figures from Parks and Recreation instead and receiving that discount on my first Super7 Reaction figures.

(I am keeping these in the package. Andy Dwyer looks pretty close to Chris Pratt, but April Ludgate looks way too frumpy to pass as Aubrey Plaza. It is cool that Andy gets his guitar and his Mouse Rat shirt, And it is also cool that April comes with Champion, a three-legged dog. I appreciate the flavor on the backs of the packages. The only thing I wish is that the photos matched the figures clothes. And maybe if they had Star Lord holding the guitar inside the blister. Eh….I give them 4/5 for what they are, something to keep in package and hang on a wall somewhere.)

So I still had to use my mummy bucks by February 28, and decided on just getting Metalhead. I was waiting to see if something else awesome dropped, but I didn’t really want anything they offered. I will say the Cliff Burton Ultimate figure is pretty cool, but I didn’t want to do a pre-order on something like that. Some of my dilemma…If I get one ninja turtle, then I will begin a rabbit hole of wanting them all. I am clearly a Rocksteady fan, but he needs to be with Bebop. You need Splinter and Shredder. You see where I am going here? Likewise they don’t have a full license for Metallica apparently, and so I had to pass on Cliff.

But at least Metalhead reflects a couple of things about myself. I listen to lots of Heavy Metal music and also spend my summer shredding this kind of music up on my guitars. I like robots a lot, and he should go nicely with that Cobra BAT. And I had Metalhead when I was a kid, though I called him “Mecha-Turtle” from the original TMNT NES game. To me, “Metalhead” was the baby name they gave him for the cartoon in order to have more appeal to kids. Does anyone else out there think this?

Metalhead came in similar packaging to the Cobra BAT. There is a nice sleeve over the top. You know you are getting a premium product! This sleeve has a nice manhole cover on the front of it featuring Metalhead’s … head. And on the back the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo.

When you remove the sleeve…WOW. This package is great! You can clearly see what you are getting. I am going to spoil ahead because apparently I lost the picture of all of the accessories. However, you can see everything here! At the top left (and going around counterclockwise…An alternate head, a hand with a finger-whip, two grenades, a backpack, a radar dish, and robochucks, and as you keep going you can see an inner blister with more robochucks, a weapon rack, and alternate hands. And Metalhead is prominent in the center. The background is a graded orange and yellow. Saying all of this, it still isn’t quite as awesome as the Cobra BAT package. You get a bio card on the back, and this looks like a retro-1990’s graffiti wall.

Now for the bad news. This package arrived mutilated.

And so I won’t be keeping it. See the bricks folded over, and then across the top is a seam from what might have been a box cutter going too deep. I also found it to be ripped as I opened the top. So I cut off the cool back and out the sewer cover sleeve, and tossed the rest. I don’t have that much room in my closet anymore. (The reason why I got rid of my terrific MOTUC collection.)

This was the pic that was supposed to show off the accessories. But at least you can get a good look at the weapon rack. It stands up pretty well on its own. And also Metalhead does as well. I spent a couple of hours playing with him and getting different poses. The joints aren’t quite as tight as you might like. But he really doesn’t have much trouble standing.

Because this is the first TMNT ultimate figure, or indeed seven-inch TMNT figure I have ever owned, I thought it extra interesting how they handled the shell and the plastron (that is, the underside of the shell.). Basically you have another buck underneath which seems to have an ab-crunch and everything, but they have made this shell into permanent armor that fits over that. It looks great. I have no desire to try and remove the belt. The backback fits nicely on his back in the same way the original did, with little holes in the chest that are for pegs. (Am I remembering this correctly, Hub City geeks?)

The weapon rack is unpainted, and the only reason I figure they include it is for nostalgia, as the original figures came with a sprue of ninja weapons that you had to tear out. Somebody out there has disassembled one of these that came with their Metalhead, and I say to you, you are a sad person.

I mentioned above that there are two sets of robochucks. One is to attach to the backback, and the other goes on his hand. These hands are removable and swappable, but I was extra careful, not wanting a repeat of what happened with the Cobra BAT. You can see in the pic that he holds the grenade just fine.

And here we are with the whip. When I saw the pictures on the internet, I couldn’t tell what this was supposed to be. Upon getting it, I realize it is an alternate hand with the finger opened up like a door so that this snakey cable can come out and…shock people?…whip people?….grab stuff?…It must be a relic from the cartoon. Someone out there should inform me in the comments. Notice (you probably can’t) that this is the other head. You see, the proper head for this figure has a translucent red “brain” exposed, and light can come in and make his eyes glow. The alternate head is fully painted. Seems like a waste. They should have given us a different expression or something.

Comparison time…

When I got Metalhead, I was thinking of what things would go nice together. And why not a robot ninja turtle to go with my robot Cobra soldier? You can see here that the Cobra BAT towers over Metalhead. Both are seven-inch scale, but I suppose the TMNT guys are supposed to be diminuative. And maybe the BAT is a tall boy.

One other suprise. I thought we probably could swap parts. NONE OF THE PARTS ARE COMPATABLE. You can’t attach the robochucks to the Cobra BAT, or Cobra BAT’s drill arm to Metalhead. The heads are also not compatable, (But why would you do that?). At least the colors are complimentary, as both are based on a cartoon appearance.

But it doesn’t matter. Good triumphs over evil! (Technically, I guess Metalhead is more of a good guy. Mecha-Turtle, from the NES game…that guy was all bad.)

How do I rate Metalhead?

The package was cool…too bad mine was messed up. But I cut out the nicest looking pieces to keep. The graded orange-yellow cardboard behind the figure leaves a little to be desired. (Cobra BAT had a terrific explosion, reminiscent of the vintage GI Joe packaging.)

His joints are kind of loose, and I worry about breaking the pegs. I have to admit, the alternate head hasn’t snapped on tightly and I am afraid to force it. I don’t even like it, so why risk breaking the ball and socket peg?

Metalhead came with plenty of accessories including alternate hands and a weapons rack.

I think I have to give this one a 3/5. It hits all of the average marks. And I kind of “settled” on getting it.

What do you think, Hub City Geeks? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

(Sorry about the red background cloth being wrinkled. I need to upgrade my gear, I think.)