Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Half-Shell Heroes Ultimate Hero Leo
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The internet has been a huge boon to collectors in so many ways. But it does have a few minor drawbacks as well. It is great to see
what is coming to stores in advance. But it means that the thrill of walking into a store and finding something completely new and
unexpected has been all but lost. But it means that when it does happen, it is particularly interesting. So when I wandered into a
small Walmart store last fall and found a twenty inch tall Half-Shell Hero Leonardo figure that doubled as a storage case for Half-Shell
Heroes figures I was quite surprised and delighted. But the thrill of finding something completely unexpected doesn't always mean that
the actual toy will turn out all that well.
Packaging - 7/10The Ultimate Hero Leo's only packaging is a cardboard tray to which the figure is secured. So there isn't much room for graphics or additional information other than a couple of items to point out that it isn't just a figure, but a storage case for the regular HSH figures. Of course, being that it is a storage case, it doesn't need packaging to protect it. And having the toy completely out in the open means that you can check it out and know exactly what you are buying.
Sculpting - 3/10The mold for Ultimate Hero Leo is pretty simple. It looks like they just took the design for the regular two inch figures and made it ten times bigger when viewed from the front. It isn't very detailed, but it is still cute. The problem really arises when you turn the figure around. The back of the legs and arms are left open to use for storing figures. The body can also store figures, but that portion has the shell to serve as a cover. The rest are just open gaps in the back of the limbs. Even the backs of the elbows were left open despite the fact that there is nowhere near enough room to store a figure in the elbows and the packaging even shows that there should be a back to the elbow pad.
Paint - 4/10,The eyes and teeth are painted on Ultimate Hero Leo and that's it. The rest of the color is provided by the various plastic colors. It's enough to get by with. But it would have been nice if they had painted the metal loops on his shoulder straps.
Articulation - 3/10Ultimate Hero Leo has three points of articulation with rotating joints at the shoulders and neck. And the shell is hinged so that it can be opened. Of course, if you use the shoulder joints, any figures store in the back of the arms will fall out.
Play Value - 2/10It's hard to tell if this is meant to be primarily a large figure or a storage device for the regular sized Half-Shell Heroes figures. By trying to be both it ended up being flawed in both regards. As a figure, leaving the back of the limbs open makes those limbs less rigid and quite ugly when viewed from behind. As a storage case for your figures, not having a way to separate each figure is quite an oversight. But it's the fact that most of the storage space is in the limbs and there is nothing to stop the figures from just falling right out of those areas if Ultimate Hero Leo is moved makes this pretty worthless as a storage device.
Value - 2/10Ultimate Hero Leo sells for $30. If it was a fully functional twenty inch figure and storage case, that could have been a decent price. But in reality, it isn't very good at either role. And if you really want a large scale Half-Shell Hero figure, there is the much better Mega Mutant Leo still on store shelves. If you really want a way to store your Half-Shell Heroes figures, I have been using storage cases from a craft store. This version is just about the perfect size and will hold eighteen HSH figures.
Happy Hunting:I found Ultimate Hero Leo at a Walmart store back in November. Since then, I have seen him in a few more Walmart stores. But I haven't seen him carried anywhere else. I don't know if he is actually a Walmart exclusive. But if you are interested in him, that is definitely the place to look.
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