Herocross Hybrid Metal Figuration Ninja Turtles, Mini TMNT and Jada 4" Metalfigs Ninja Turtles Review
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I've mentioned many times on this site that I have been a fan/collector of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys since the initial release of the toys
in 1988. But the TMNT wasn't the first or only toy line I had as a kid. And one of the lines that I collected prior to the Turtles was the
Transformers. And for kids in grow-up bodies such as myself, there's a certain phrase that is almost certain to put them into nostalgia overload:
die cast metal. Whether it came in the form of 1:64th scale cars or transforming robots, that cool-to-the-touch feel and the heft of a die cast
toy is synonomus with quality and 80's goodness. But this worship of the almighty metal has eluded TMNT fans for the most part. That changed in
2016. In that year two different companies decided to produce articulated figures made of that miraculous metal. I reviewed
Jada Toys' die cast metal figures in 2017. And earlier this year, they
released those figures once again. So I figured that if I'm going to review one set of die cast Turtles, I might as well see how they stack up
to the Ninja Turtle figures produced in the Herocross Hybrid Metal Figuration and their mini counterparts.
Packaging - Jada & HC Mini 4 Packs 5/10, HMF 4 Pack & Individually 8/10The Jada Metalfigs got a packaging redesign compared to the previous release. But it is the epitome of generic design: a simple window box that uses the same stock art for the Turtles and line art for the background that Mattel has been using for the TMNT Hot Wheels releases recently. There's nothing really wrong with it, but overall, it feels fairly generic. Interestingly, it also means that they match the Herocross Mini 4 Packs quite well as they use a very similar packaging design as well. They do have a few extra touches though. Each box is colored to match the theme of the figures inside. (Orangish-gold box for the gold 4 pack, gray and black for the gray set and black sets respectively and green for the regular set) It's only when you get to the full sized Herocross Hybrid Metal Figureation Turtles that you see some significant effort put into the packaging design. I bought the four pack that included all four of the regular releases in a single box. The large outer box is sturdy but graphically it is a bit of a tease. It has a general TMNT theme on one side and a preview of the four figures on the other side. The preview images appear to be photos of the actual toy with filter applied to make it look like a watercolor painting. It's great for getting the figures to you in prestine shape, but it's no display piece. Ironically, once you open it, the box does become a literal display thanks to a liner inside that turns the opened box into a cool shadowbox display of the sewer lair. That was unanticipated, but a really cool touch. Even better, you now have access to the four individually boxed figures. And those boxes are really cool. Each figure comes in a five panel window box with the front panel designed like a comic book cover. Each Turtle gets a unique "cover" image with that Turtle featured and their three brothers in the background. The back of the box has photos of the figure with all of the accessories. When you open the front panel, there is a cool, comic book layout themed set of photos showing off the accessories again. That's quite useful as the figure itself is easily visible in the window. But the accessories are mostly hidden behind the figre, out of view. Clearly there is a big difference in the amount of effort put into the packaging by the two companies. But that does make some sense as the Herocross figures are much more of a premium collector's release so it's only fitting that the packaging is designed to match.
Sculpting - HMF 4/10, Jada 5/10, HMF Minis 7/10This review is covering a lot of figures, but there's really only three different sculpts. The Jada four inch figures all share a single culpt for the bodies and limbs, just with different heads. The same is true amongst the HMF Minis and full sized Hybrid Metal Figuration Turtles. And unfortunately all three designs have issues with the proportions. The Jada figures aren't really all that bad. The legs and body are considerably smaller than the head and arms. But overall, they look decent. I'm more disappointed that they just released the exact same figures as five years ago. They could have at least given them new expressions. Unfortunately the ones I was looking forward to the most, the Hybrid Metal Figuration Turtles ended up looking quite goofy. Each HMF figure has an internal metal frame onto which are mounted the body parts of the Turtles. It's an interest idea, but isn't executed well. You end up with chunky body parts surrounding much smaller joints so there are large gaps at the major joints. And there is nothing keeping the body parts aligned with the inner frame. So the forearms are often facing one way when the articulation wants to move in another direction. And of course, the heads are so large that it looks like they are wearing giant mascot style masks like Michelangelo did in the 2007 movie. Finally we get to the HMF Mini Turtles. Honestly I paid these very little attention until I opened them. But they have the best sculpts overall. The heads are still too big. But the bodies and limbs all turned out really well. Based just on the sculpts and want a die cast metal Turtle it's a no brainer. Get the HMF Minis and skip the others.
Paint - HMF Michelangelo 4/10, Gold Mini HMF 7/10, Black Mini HMF 10/10, others 6/10The good news here is that the overall quality of the paintwork on all of these figures is great. So there's no need to nitpick any one particular figure. The Jada figures have a glossy, slightly metallic finish for most of the figures. The plastrons, belts, pads and masks have a more traditional finish. I don't really love the look. But it makes sense. If you want to sell a figure based on the fact that it is made of metal, then you might as well really sell that point. The Hybrid Metal Figuration Turtles have the most paint work. But it doesn't really do much to make them look very impressive. I think part of that is because the only shading work that was done was on the knee and elbow pads and wrist wraps. Doing just those areas is enough to draw my attention to the fact that it isn't done anywhere else. If they hadn't detailed those small areas, I don't think I would have cared about the simplistic paint scheme everywhere else. And then there is the issue of Michelangelo's mask and pad colors. Te color is just off. It looks too yellow, certainly not the proper orange color. At a glance, you might not notice, but once you see it, it's hard to unsee it. Finally there are the Hybrid Metal Figuration Mini figures, all of which have the best looking paint work. The regular versions of the Turtles and the gray versions look great, but there isn't anything particularly special about them. The gold minis appear at first sight to just be gold all over. But they kept the eyes and teeth white. And the belt buckle is a slightly different shade and they detailed the wrappings around the sword handles with black paint. Those little touches really make a big difference and make the gold versions of the Turtles really stand out. And they would stand out even more if the black versions didn't utterly outshine all of the them. Black for the skintone, metallic gray shells, silver for the belt and metallic blue/purple/red/orange for the mask and pads, and then those pure white eyes and teeth. The overall combination just works so well. Oddly, it feels like they work equally well as an evil version of the Turtles or the regular Turtles in their stealth attack look.
Articulation - Jada 3/10, others 5/10The Jada die cast figures have just three points of articulation: a ball jointed neck and rotating shoulders. There are joints at the wrists, but the sculpting doesn't allow them to actually rotate. The HMF Minis have ball jointed necks, hips and shoulders, hinged elbows and knees and rotating wrists. The full size HMF Turtles add rotating joints at the bicepts, waist, and above the knees as well as ball jointed ankles. But having the body panels on the inner frame for the larger figures limits their range of motion. And the range of motion for the knees and elbows for both the regular and mini figures is quite limited as well. The end result is that the Hybrid Metal Figuration and HMF Minis can pull off basic poses, but not much more, certainly far less than you might expect with that much articulation.
Accessories - Jada & HMF Minis 3/10, HMF Turtles 6/10I think that I should be clear and upfront with my expectations with these figures. If you are marketing figures at least in part based on the fact that they are made with die cast metal and they are known for fighting with metal weapons, I expect metal weapons for accessories. In that regard, all of the figures fall short. The Jada figures and the HMF Minis all come with just their signature weapons. The HMF Mini Michelangelo does come with metal chains for his weapons. But the Minis are also the only figures to not include a way to store the weapons. Far more effort was put into the full sized Hybrid Metal Figuration Turtles. Each Turtle comes with their signature weapon(s), a second head with an angry expression, an assortment of additional hands and a bonus accessory. I'll give them credit for the effort. But the actual results fail to impress. The inclusion of the angry expression head is nice. But those expressions don't really look great with the style of the body. And I find it slightly insulting that they included a second head, but you have to swap the mask tails since they didn't include a second one. Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo all come with four extra pairs of hands while Leonardo comes with five. And again, I appluad the effort. The hands include hands in an open, martial arts pose, a pair of lightly grasping hands, three closed fists, three gripping hands and one pair of hands for holding thicker items. The options are nice. But most of those options serve no real purpose, afterall, why include the hands to hold the ooze canister with a Turtle that doens't come with the ooze canister? Finally there are the bonus accessories. Leonardo comes with a rat (unmutated Splinter?). Raphael comes with an unmutated baby turtle. Donatello comes with the ooze container. And Michelangelo comes with a full pizza plus an additional single slice. These extra accessories are pretty cool and actually do add some play/display value to the figures. There's also one other issue that I should mention and that's with the belts and weapons storage. Both Leonardo and Donatello can stor their weapons on the back of their shoulder strap. But the strap just clips under the belt and comes off just as easily. Michelangelo and Raphael are even worse as their weapon storage just attach to their belts via a small magnet. But the magnet is just barely strong enough to keep things in place. But the slightest bump and the storage pieces fall off or get knocked out of place. I count on storage options like this to help keep the accessories from getting separated from the figures. But when they fall off this easily, they just encourage them to get lost easier.
Value - HMF TMNT 3/10, Jada & HMF Minis 6/10Throughout this review I've glossed over the Jada four inch Metalfigs, largely because I've already reviewed them and because they just aren't that impressive in most regards. But now we come to the category where they truely shine, the price. The Herocross Hybrid Metal Figuration Turtles sold for around $50 each. And the four packs of the minis were around $100 each. Meanwhile Jada's four inch Metalfigs sold for just $10 to $13 each. And new release is still selling for that price. So if you just want some TMNT figures with the heft of die cast metal, they are a much cheaper option. But if you still are interested in the Herocross versions, the good news is that they were never very popular and even now, five years later, they are still available, and often for less than the original retail price.
Happy Hunting:The Jada Metalfigs were just released again at the start of 2021. Thus far I have only seen them show up at specialty stores such as Big Bad Toy Store or Entertainment Earth. The Herocross figures and minis can be found fairly easily on eBay or even directly from the Herocross Website.
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