Transformers vs. My Little Pony?!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wingnut & Screwloose

QUICK INFO:
Name: Wingnut & Screwloose
Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Playmates)
MSRP: $5.00
Year: 1990


Continuing my look at TMNT toys that I never owned as a kid we'll take a look at another character released in 1990, Wingnut!  This was another toy that drew me in thanks to his comic book character feel.

Wingnut is originally from the planet Huanu.  When Krang destroyed his home planet he was sucked into a vortex and ended up on Earth with his mosquito buddy Screwloose.  He is determined to be a super hero and often receives training and help from the Turtles.

There is so much to like about this figure.  From the level of detail to the figure itself or the accessories to the costume design.  This figure is fantastic.  First off I've gotta say I love how his pot belly is busting out of his costume.  Very nice touch Playmates.  His very own "W" logo on the chest is also another nice touch.  In addition to his more obvious bat features I wanted to point out his feet.  I wish I could've rigged something up that shows this overlooked feature, but take a close look at his toes in particular.  How do vampire bats or bats in general sleep?  Hanging upside down from their feet.  The small curved toes allow you to hang Wingnut upside down from a piece of string!

Wingnut's wings are removable.  At first I found that odd, then I realized his actual wings have been integrated in these mechanical upgraded wings.  Too bad his actual wings weren't painted on the back.  So in theory his wings aren't removable.  The story goes that mechanical whiz Donatello created these mech turbo wings for Wingnut.

One of the things about a lot of these later TMNT characters that stood out was the character design.  Each character had a distinctively different look and qualities that made them stand out from their allies or enemies.  Wingnut here is no different.  The designers nailed the bat features in his face - from the nose to the large ears.

 

Wingnut comes packaged with a few cool accessories.  All good super heroes that have a bat theme going for them need an awesome yellow utility belt!  This belt has all sort of cool gadgets on it.  It appears we have some dynamite sticks, an actual bat (maybe it's a boomerang?) along with a few pouches.

In addition to the belt we also have a few weapons - Bat Gun and a Blood-burstin' Bat Bomb.  Of course his mosquito companion Screwloose is also included.

The utility belt has a bat head buckle that unsnaps to put on or take the belt off.  Too bad the belt hides the belly rip on his costume.  Both of his weapons can be stored on pegs on his mechanical wings or obviously be wielded in either hand.  I always liked toys that were self contained such as this.

This figure is another great example of diversity in the original TMNT toy line.  He too can be had for fairly cheap on the secondary market - just make sure he is complete.  Sometimes the inclusion of all of his accessories can drive the price up so be careful that you don't pay too much.  My toy room is under construction as I work on moving it, but I'll have to find a little corner of a shelf somewhere for this guy as well as Muckman we looked at earlier.

Mega Bloks Halo: Series 3 Blind Packs

I'm a little surprised that I, a avid video gamer, have ignored the Mega Bloks Halo toys for as long as I have.  Maybe it's my renewed interest in Halo with this being the 10th anniversary, but I picked up one of these blind packaged figure packs a few days ago on a whim.  While the quality doesn't seem up to par w/ LEGO, I gotta say I'm beginning to understand why these little sets are so popular with collectors.  Series 3 gives you 8 new figures to chase.  I'm not sure if there are any cheat sheets out there that help you determine what figure is inside or not so I just grabbed the pack on the top.  For $2.50 you get one figure with accessories and one black brick.  These must me pretty popular as when I went back to grab another pack the little gravity feeder box was empty...and it was just packed full not 2 or 3 days earlier!

The figures come in 3 levels of rarity if you will.  Out of the 8 possible figures you have a better chance at pulling a common (blue) figure.  I ended up with the orange UNSC Spartan.

It wouldn't be a Mega Bloks set if you didn't get to assemble your figure.  I like how these little mini figures feature ball and socket joints.  I didn't know going in these figures had this level of articulation.  You also have hinged elbows and knees and the waist swivels a full 360 degrees.

The paint apps on these figures look really nice.  I like the worn / weathered look on the armor.  I also have to say I like the wide stance of the figures.  When putting the figure on a block you have a peg in between the feet.

Overall these are nice little figures.  I may just be tempted to pick up a few more of these blind packages and possibly even a small building block set.  I don't have the funds or space to go hog wild here, but I commend Mega Bloks for handling the Halo license well here.

A look at my Transformers collection before it's broken up

I've had some things recently change in my life that requires me to give up some space in my house for my family as well the need to put some cash in our bank account.  This has lead me to consolidate my man cave and my toy room into one room.  In addition to this I'll be breaking up my Transformers collection.  Before I do this I wanted to take a few pictures of the collection as is so I'll have something to look back at down the road.

Please know this isn't how I wanted to present my collection here on my blog, but due to time restraints I snapped pictures of the shelves in a hurry.  Once my new set up is complete I look forward to sharing what is left over!  If you see anything here that is NOT G1, G2, modern stuff or Animated that you are interested in let me know as I'll be gearing up to sell very soon.

So now here I present my TF collection:

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Muckman & Joe Eyeball

QUICK INFO:
Name: Muckman & Joe Eyeball
Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Playmates)
MSRP: $5.00
Year: 1990


I was captivated by TMNT early on, but as the series (both TV and the toys) expanded I started to loose interest and I moved onto other things.  As I played the various TMNT video games I was re-introduced to the world of TMNT including a lot of characters that I was not familiar with.  Muckman was one of those characters.  Let's take a look at this mutated garbage man and his pal.

Muckman didn't always look like this.  Originally he was a garbage man named Garson Grunge.  He and his friend Joe Junkee were mutated by Bebop & Rocksteady when they poured mutagen on them.  I'm not sure if they were given the names of Muckman and Joe Eyeball, but they went along w/ Shredder and the other mutants to combat the Turtles.  Later on when the Turtles showed them both that who they thought were their allies were actually the ones responsible for their transformation they both sided with the Turtles to combat evil.  When they had a chance to be cured both opted to stay in their current form as they had grown "comfortable" with their new selves.

When I first saw pictures of this figure I thought he was so cool looking.  I've heard others refer to him as a urban Swamp Thing or even as a Toxic Avenger / Oscar the Grouch hybrid!  I think as a kid I only had a few of the Turtles, Splinter, Shredder and a few of his minions.  While they were cool toys I can say that this figure is equally cool - if not better.

Just look at the level of detail sculpted on this figure.  I love the man hole cover that is attached to his foot.  The slice of pizza is a great addition and reference to the Turtles as well.  I just wish there was individual paint apps to the items that comprise Muckman's body.  If this toy had come out now then you would that, but frankly I'm surprised at the level of detail alone for a 90's figure such as this.

On the back you can see even more trash and debris on his body.  You may have noticed the small hole in his abdomen and wondered what that was all about.  On his back you'll see a large rounded indentation.  This is to hold his garbage can "backpack".  I'm not sure if he originally came packaged with a container of slime, but when you would pour the slime into the garbage can it would ooze out the hole in this abdomen.  You could also remove the banana peel "cap" on his head and have the slime ooze out his mouth.  They just don't make action figures with features like this anymore!

Truly a face only a mother could love!  I love the clothes pin on his nose.

Muckman comes packaged with 3 accessories.  His aforementioned garbage can backpack, Joe Eyeball sidekick and his Muck gun.  Even his weapon has a good bit of detail sculpted in.

Joe Eyeball can hitch a ride in the garbage can...assuming you don't have it filled with slime.  I'm not sure why his gun is hollow other than you could fill it with slime as well.

Since acquiring this figure some time ago I've noticed you can find sealed, carded samples on eBay for less than $15-20.  I'm not an expert in prices on old TMNT toys, but that seems like a decent price for a sealed toy that is 20 years old.  While Muckman may not have played a huge role in the TMNT mythos (he only appeared in one episode of the cartoon, "Muckman Messes Up") its a great figure with a lot of detail.  I only own a few vintage TMNT figures now, but this one will proudly stand on one of my shelves.