TMNT Mutant Copter
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I say forget Batman, I want to know where the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get all of their cool toys. I mean, come on.
These guys live in a sewer. Despite that, they have an armored car, a Humvee, a fleet of motorcycles, a submarine, and
now they get a helicopter. Heck I'd settle for knowing how they can afford to park all of these vehicles in New York City.
But I digress. The green teens are getting some aerial support for their motorpool in the form of the Mutant Copter. (But
I swear, if the turtles get Segway scooters that's it!)
Packaging - 5/10Like the previous large vehicles, the Mutant Copter comes in a windowless box. It is the first vehicle to sport the new packaging design, which isn't all that different from the old design. The front of the box is taken up largely by a photo of the vehicle with all four turtles in tow. The TMNT: mutants & monsters logo is in the upper left and the vehicle name in the lower right along with a photo of the rotor spinning action feature. The only real change is the background. The ugly yellow and orange are still present, but stripes of black have been added to the top and bottom. It is still ugly, but at least the garish colors are toned down a little. The sides and top have the same photo of the Mutant Copter. The back has the usual photo of the vehicle with various features pointed out as well as pictures showing the spinning blades feature and all four turtles onboard. There are also photos of the Sewer Spewer and Monster Trapper TMNT figures. But the most interesting thing on the back is the write up of the Mutant Copter. According to the box, the Mutant Copter is built from the remains of Nano (the nanotech monster) which is suppose to allow it to be self repairing and invisible to radar. Of course, time will tell if that story plays out in the cartoon.
Sculpting - 9/10Playmates went all out in the sculpting of the Mutant Copter. There is a lot of detail work done throughout the copter. The way the three missile launchers are integrated into the body is a nice change from the usual habit of having them stick out on a peg. Playmates also included a clear nose cone which is an unusual, albeit useless, feature. But it is the interior that really wins the Mutant Copter points. Were most vehicles are quite plain on the inside, the Mutant Copter has sculpted controls all the way around the cockpit, a textured floor and even moveable control handles. There is also a folding front seat, but that is simply to allow enough room to get a figure into the back seat. It's nice to see that Playmates didn't cut corners.
Paint/Decals - 3/10All of the paint work on the Mutant Copter is neat and clean. There's just way too little of it. A yellow band on the base of the tail, yellow tips on the rotor blades, skids and tail fins, silver trim on the canopy and a TMNT logo on both sides of the cockpit is it. That is a real shame. As much effort as went into this sculpt and the paint work does nothing to show off that work.
Play Value - 5/10The Mutant Copter has several play features. The first is the spinning rotor. It spins freely on its own, or it can be made to spin by pulling the trigger located under the fuselage. Of course, every vehicle has to have a missile firing gimmick. The Mutant Copter has three cannons under the nose which can be fired independently. But the primary feature simply seems to be that all four turtles can ride at the same time. And Zanramon's Space Cruiser has it beat hands down in this respect since all four turtles could fit into that vehicle while half of them have to just hang off the side of the Mutant Copter. I appreciate Playmate's dedication to producing vehicles when most toy lines have abandoned them. But it would be nice if they would realize that like any playset or accessory, a vehicle should engage kids and interact with the figures not just carry them around.
Value - 6/10The Mutant Copter is a nice addition to the mutant garage. And the price tag of $20 is fairly reasonable. But it doesn't really have anything to set it apart or make it a must have. There's nothing particularly unique about its features that we haven't already seen in the other vehicles in the line.
Happy Hunting:I purchase the Mutant Copter from Toys R Us. But I have also seen it at Target and Wal-mart. The TMNT line doesn't seem to have a big online presence, but the Mutant Copter is listed on both Wal-mart.com and Amazon.com.
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