VS Rip-Spin Warriors TMNT Review
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There's a good chance that most people reading this are wondering what a Rip-Spin Warrior is. Launched in 2016 by Mattel, the Rip-Spin Warriors
combined battle tops with licensed characters. It was an unusual idea. But with licenses such as WWE, Ghostbusters, Street Fighter, the Ninja
Turtles and both DC and Marvel Comics, it the idea took off it could have been quite a hit. It could have, but didn't. There were plans for all
four of the Ninja Turtles to be released individually as well as a pair of two packs pairing Leonardo with a Foot Soldier and Splinter with Shredder.
But they never got past the initial releases which included Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Leonardo/Foot Soldier two pack. It doesn't look like the
line will be seeing any future releases. But I wanted to take a look at the figures that were released to see what we missed out on.
Packaging - 5/10The packaging for the line is a bit plain/generic looking. That's not too surprising since the design had to be used across a multitude of licenses. They do show off all of the TMNT products that were planned. Of course, only half of those products were actually produced. So that makes the listing on the back more deceptive than helpful.
Sculpting - 2/10All of the Rip-Spin Warriors share the same mold for thier body and head. And it isn't much of a sculpt. The body is boxy and the head is really only the face. They are also not sculpted to be able to stand up on their own which is annoying. You do get some variety to the figures with the weapons that they use in place of arms. But technically those are accessories.
Paint - 3/10Each figure's body is molded in a single color plastic. They then use stickers for the face and chest. I like the art style used for the stickers. But using stickers on figures that are meant to take a fair amount of physical abuse seems like a pretty poor decision.
Articulation - 2/10Each of the Rip-Spin Warriors has two interchangable weapons for arms which can be rotated where they attach to the body. The face can also be removed and repositioned to face directly to the right, left or backwards. That's pretty limited, but it's not nothing.
Accessories - 5/10Each Rip-Spin Warrior comes with a pair of 'arms' which are actually just their weapons or a shield mounted to a small stub and a rip cord. The weapons are a nice touch and help to make each figure unique. But they are so short that I question how useful they can be if you are actually battling these figures. The rip cords have an interesting design. Unlike more traditional rip cords that only have teeth facing one direction, these cords can be used no matter which way they are lined up. That's a nice design change. But it does make the cords easier to bend and disform. And when that happens, they don't feed through the figures smoothly. That's a problem when the rip cords for the single pack figures have to be curled almost into a loop to fit them in the packaging. But my favorite feature is that the handle of each rip cord actually serves as a base that will allow the figures to be displayed standing up. They aren't great bases. They don't sit flat and each one has a nine and a half inch tail hanging off of it in the form of the cord. But at least it shows that some thought and effort was put into the design.
Value - 3/10The original retail price for these figures was $10 for the two packs and $5 for the individual figures. But at this point, the entire line seems to be hitting clearance at almost every store. So you should be able to find them for at least half off, possibly less.
Happy Hunting:The Rip-Spin Warriors line had pretty strong distribution. Walmart, Target and Toys R Us all carry the line, or they did. I know that Target stores near me have put them on clearance already. Even Mattel's company store nearby had them discounted the last time I was there. So I don't see much of a future for them or much hope that Raphael, Donatello or the Shredder/Splint two pack will ever be released. But if you are interested in an unusual oddity in the TMNT history, these may be worth picking up on the cheap.
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