SDCC 2020 Exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Musical Mutagen Tour 4-Pack by NECA – Toyark Advanced Photo Shoot

One of NECA‘s most anticipated San Diego Comic-Con 2020 Exclusives is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Musical Mutagen Tour 7″ Scale Figure 4-Pack. The upcoming set is based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour, where the four Turtles became rock stars. Each of the Turtles gets a rock star makeover, complete with musical instruments, denim jackets, and more. The figures will be available in Target stores and online for US customers, and TheNecaStore.com for international buyers. See those details below.

Release Date – July 23, 2020

Available in Target Stores on Thursday(7/23) – $124.99 USD
Available online (Bundled w/ Accessory Pack) through target.com on Thursday(7/23) – $149.99 USD
Available online (International only) through thenecastore.com on Thursday(7/23) – $149.99 USD

Note: Some stores may have inventory ahead of scheduled date

Our friends at NECA were kind enough to let Toyark get an advanced look at the set. After the jump, you can check out nearly 80 photos and a full review.

San Diego Comic-Con 2020 Exclusives is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Musical Mutagen Tour 7″ Scale Figure 4-Pack by NECA

Pros

• Figures look way better than the live action Turtles they are based on
• Great packaging that acts as a diorama concert stage
• Lots of interchangeable hands
• Denim jackets look fantastic in hand
• Hinged jaws work pretty well
• Great paint work
• New outfit additions don’t hinder range of motion
• Can swap pretty much any parts with the movie Turtles

Cons

• Probably not a set for all TMNT fans
• Raphael’s guitar frets can get damaged with the grip hand

Overall
The TMNT Musical Mutagen Tour figures come packaged in a VHS style slipcover, over a fold out flapped window box. The front of the packaging features great new art from the legendary James Groman (@jgroman60). James has worked on numerous classic toy lines such as Madballs and Barnyard Commandos. The back of the slipcover features the names of everyone who worked on the set, and a cut out Raphel mask. When you remove the slipcover, you find a faux steel case that opens up to reveal the figures. when fully opened, the case forms a complete stage diorama for the set. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael are included. Leo includes a one-strong bass, Donnie includes a keytar, Mikey has a saxophone and a synthesizer, and Raph comes with a guitar. There are also four additional sets of interchangeable hands, and a pizza accessory.

I’m going to be honest, I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this set. Like many TMNT fans, my love for the live action iterations ends after Secret of the Ooze. TMNT 3, The Next Mutation, and the Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour were all things that didn’t interest me at all growing up. But, when done right, action figures can take something that doesn’t quite work in live action, and turn it into a really enjoyable addition to a collection. That is absolutely the case here, as NECA opted to avoid an exact one-to-one translation of the tour costumes. They took the designs and tweaked them just enough to feel like a more natural extensions of their movie figures. The heads and hands were scaled down to feel more proportionally correct, and NECA used their TMNT movie bodies as the base, as opposed to going with the more rubbery look of the tour costumes. The changes make all the difference and the figures feel like live action versions of some of the old Playmates Toys crossover figures from the early 90’s.

For the most part, the new costume additions are sculpted plastic, and replace costume pieces from the movie turtles. The exceptions are the denim jacket, and the fabric leg warmers. The jackets are one of the big highlights of the set. The detail work is excellent, with different patches throughout. On the back of each jacket is a printed version of the packaging art. The other big new addition to the figures are the new head sculpts based on the touring Turtles. The designs were nowhere near as believable as the ones used in the original TMNT live action film, looking far more exaggerated and cartoonish. The head sculpts are pretty spot on representations of those designs, and the first NECA turtles to include hinged jaws for singing poses. If you have NECA’s movie turtles, you can swap out the heads if you so like, as well as the hands or any accessories. All the heads  pretty easily, and they all use the same ball joint, so no customization work is needed to get them to fit.

Paint work on the whole is excellent, with bright colors used on the costume pieces, and highly detailed paint apps used on the Turtles themselves. None of the paint lines were messy and everything looked crisp and clean in-hand. Articulation is solid, with about 25 or so points on each figure. None of the new costuming hinders range of motion, and none of the joints were paint locked. There are two costume eye accessories included, which are meant for Leonardo and Michelangelo. Those simply peg into the bandana openings of the eyes, and can be used on any of the four Turtles. The new instruments all look great, and pretty accurate to their live action counterparts. Be mindful that the tighter grip hands can damage the frets on Raphael’s guitar neck, so use caution when posing him.

The Musical Mutagen Tour set is a fun, and unique take on the Turtles, and works so much better in figure form than they did in live action. This is not a set for everyone for sure, as everything is a bit exaggerated and cartoonish compared to the more realistic look of the movie figures up to this point. But, for those that do invest, they will find a fun set of figures, with a fantastic presentation. check out a selection of photos below, and the full gallery after that.

CompaniesNECA
CharactersLeonardoRaphaelMichelangeloDonatello
Scale7 Inch

TagsFeatured NECA Toy Galleries

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