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Funko's line of Pop vinyl figures have proven to be exceptionally popular since their launch last year. Since then the line
continued to expaand and add more licenses. They have also gone back to expand he line up for some of the licenses that
were released previously. For the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle license, they are filling out the line with four more original
cartoon characters: April O'Neil, Foot Soldier and Bebop and Rocksteady. Given the number of figures and exclusives that
they produced last year, I was hoping for a bigger line up for this year. But at least this does fill out the line with most
of the core cast of the original cartoon except for Krang.
Packaging - 8/10
The packaging for the Pop figures hasn't changed from last year. Each character is packaged in a small window box with large
cartoon images of the character on the front and sides. The back shows all ten TMNT figures from the Pop line. The box design
is pretty simple, but that matches the design of the figures. The one improvement I would like to see would be the inclusion
of a color background inside the box instead of leaving the unprinted interior exposed.
Sculpting - April 6/10, others 9/10
The aculpting for Bebop Rocksteady and he Foot Soldier is well done. The bodies have a great deal of detail.
The head sculpts are a bit simplier, but still evoke the feel the characters well. I was not nearly as impressed
with April. They did a decent job with her hair. The body is quite detailed, but it is too small. That makes balancing
her giant head fairly tricky. But what I find really off putting is that they removed almost all of her facial features.
She still has huge eyes. And there is a tiny nose still present. But it is barely noticeable. And there is no mouth
under it. I guess April is the first Funko Pop figure that I've gotten that has a normal, unmasked human face. So perhaps
this is normal. But I find it very distracting and out of place given other other TMNT figure has a full face.
Paint - April 4/10, others 8/10
The paint work on Bebop, Rocksteady and Foot Soldier is surprisingly well done. There is quite a bit of detail work on both
Bebop and Rocksteady. And all of the sculpted details are painted on the Foot Soldier. There is also no issue splotches
in the paint as there was with the first six figures. There are some minor quality control issues with the edges and paint
both going over and notgetting up to where it should be. But it isn't anything that stands out without close examination.
Then there is April. Her outfit is far more bland than any of the figures, though that has as much to do with the character
design as the figure. What is uniquely odd is that the plastic color that also provides her skin tone is slightly orange.
That makes April look like she has been using too much spray tan. It isn't horrible, but it is fairly noticable, especially
when compared to the arms or the plastic around the neck.
Articulation - 1/10
Each figure has only a single point of articulation, a rotating neck. Given that additional articulation would probably reduce
the stability of the figures. I don't mind the lack of leg joints. But a couple of shoulder joints would have been nice.
Accessories - 0/10
None of the figures come with any accessories, or at least no loose accessories. April is holding a microphone. But even
with accessories, the figures couldn't do anything with them any way.
Value - April 3/10, others 7/10
Funko's Pop Television figures usually sell for about $10. A few places may sell them for as low as $8 or $8.50. On one hand, that
is not a bad price for a figure, particularly for licenses that wouldn't get figures normally. But that isn't the case here.
And if the choice is between the Funko Foot Soldier or one of the regular Playmates figures that have more articulation and
accessories, I would rather have the regular action figure. Still, if you are looking for something that isn't a child's toy
or specifically from the original cartoon, these aren't a bad option.
Happy Hunting:
Funko has done quite a job of getting the Pop Vinyl figures into a large number of stores. Even some of the larger retailers such
as Target are beginning to carry them. But the TMNT figures tend to be limited to specialty stores. Barnes and Noble seems to be
the biggest chain that is carrying them.
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