Action figures based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise have been produced by Playmates Toys since 1988. Staff artists at the Northampton, Massachusetts based Mirage Studios have provided conceptual designs for many of the figures, vehicles, and playsets and are credited on the packaging of the products they created.
Between 1988 and 1997, Playmates produced around 400 figures and dozens of vehicles and playsets. About US$1.1 billion of Turtles toys were sold in four years, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time, behind G.I. Joe and Star Wars. Influenced by the success of He-Man, G.I. Joe and Transformers, which had promoted toy lines with animated series, Playmates worked with Murakami-Wolf-Swenson to produce the first Turtles animated series, which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade.
Getting started The first TMNT license came in the form of a role-playing game by Palladium, followed by miniatures from Dark Horse. Within a year, First Comics began to reprint the early issues in color volumes; four were produced, stopping at issue 11. These sold well, and Eastman and Laird were soon contacted by Mark Freedman, a licensing agent who believed he could make something of the Turtles. Freedman took the idea to a variety of toy companies, only to be turned down by those who felt the concept was not popular enough to support a toy line. Only one company expressed interest, a little-known California company by the name of Playmates Toys. Not entirely willing to risk marketing a small cult comic book, Playmates insisted that a cartoon series be produced first.About the Creators TMNT25.com (January 2009). Retrieved on 1-31-09. Development initiated with a creative team of companies and individuals: Jerry Sachs, famous ad man of Sachs-Finley Agency, brought together the animators at Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, headed by award-winning animator Fred Wolf. Wolf and his team combined concepts and ideas with Playmates marketing crew, headed by Karl Aaronian and then VP of Sales, Richard Sallis and President of Playmates, Bill Carlson. Aaronian brought on several designers and concepteer and writer John Schulte and worked out the simple backstory that would live on toy packaging for the entire run of the product and show. Sachs called the high-concept pitch "Green Against Brick". The sense of humor was honed with the collaboration of MWS's writers, Walt Kubiak, Aaronian, Schulte and Sachs. Playmates and their team essentially served as associate producers and contributing writers to the miniseries that was first launched to sell-in the toy action figures. Phrases like "Heroes in a Half Shell" and many of the comical catch phrases and battle slogans ("Turtle Power!") came from the writing and conceptualization of this creative team. As the series developed, veteran writer Jack Mendelsohn came on board as both a story editor and scriptwriter. David Wise, Michael Charles Hill and Michael Reaves wrote most of the scripts, taking input via Mendelsohn and collaborating writer Schulte and marketing maven Aaronian. In signing with Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Productions, Eastman and Laird saw the production of the first TMNT cartoon in December 1987. Playmates held up their end of the deal and produced the first series of TMNT action figures in the summer of 1988. The premiere series included the four Turtles, Splinter, April, Shredder, Rocksteady, Bebop, and a Foot Soldier. Vehicles included the Cheapskate, Turtle Trooper, Turtle Blimp, and Foot Knucklehead. Each vehicle set was packaged with a jokebook and a small catalog. If one was to clip the "Pizza Point"s located on the reverse side of the packaging then a person could redeem them along with a small fee for other Turtles merchandise like VHS tapes, posters, bath towels, among others. Corresponding firmly with its animated series counterpart, the original TMNT action figure line would last ten years and develop a legacy within the toy realm.
Overview The first three series of figures took obvious influence from the original Mirage comics: the Turtles lacked pupils and had bulging muscles with large veins, their bodies were shorter, more stocky and their beaks longer and more pointy like in the comics. The blister card art was also very unrefined and reflected the comics; in fact, Shredder's pose was based directly on art from the debut issue. Each figure had at least seven points of articulation (neck, shoulders, wrists, hips), many accessories including each character's signature weapon, and a bio card on the back of the blister package that kids could cut out and collect. Also included was a fully illustrated origin story on the card's backside which was phased out during the fourth series. The figures boasted highly detailed sculpting, especially for the time. Colorful characters like General Traag, Rat King, Mutagen Man, Scumbug, Pizza Face, Muckman, and many others featured intricate details such as small animals crawling over them, large scars, torn clothing, and pieces of garbage stuck to their bodies.
With the release of the second series in 1989, fans saw ten entirely new figures: five allies and five enemies, six new vehicles/accessories, the first playset, the Turtle Battle Fun role-play sets, 9" and 13" plush dolls, and official Retromutagen Ooze. This year also marked the first time Playmates would incorporate action features into their figures along with the first Turtle variants in the "Wacky Action" sub-line. Each figure possessed a wind-up function that, when applied, caused the figure's limbs to rapidly move in a rhythmic motion.
Wacky Action was followed by several additional product lines during the 1990s, including Talkin' Turtles, Head Droppin' Turtles, Mutations, and Sewer Sports Turtles, along with numerous other variations of the action figures. These releases expanded the range of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys available during the decade.
Vehicles and accessories Considering all of the vehicles and inventions conceived by Donatello, Playmates could not have their figures without a slew of toy gadgetry to interact with. Aside from vehicles actually seen in the cartoon, Playmates went on to create a wide variety other accessories. These often expressed the humorous side of TMNT with gadgets commonly made out of sewer lids, trash cans, plungers, and toilet seats. However, vehicles would also include a diversity of play features from the ripcord action of the Psycho Cycle to the electronic launching of the Turtle Pizza Thrower to the smoky bubble spout of the Bubble Bomber. For its time, TMNT was remarkably innovative in terms of fun action figure accessories.
In the midst of action figures filling the store shelves, role playing toys were also released. Depending on the depicted character, these typically included a ninja mask and plastic weapons. Other TMNT toys would be sold individually such as the Turtle Communicator, Raphael's Spy goggles, and Leo's Sewer Force Sword.
One of the most famous components of the TMNT realm is the radioactive slime Retromutagen Ooze, which mutated the Ninja Turtles from common house pets to "mean, green, fightin' machines." Thus, even Ooze was produced for the interaction with TMNT figures in 1989. The green slime was sold in a small container which also included a glow-in-the-dark Ninja Turtle in mid-mutation. Aside from the classic "Turtle Green," a "Purple Foot" variation would also become available in 1993. Ooze was an essential component to playsets such as the Flushomatic, and action figures like Muckman, who could have it run from his hollow head and out his mouth. Depending on their features, occasional figures and accessories came with their own smaller canister of Ooze to fulfill the playtime experience.
Themes and incarnations Throughout the 1990s, Ninja Turtle action figures would run an extensive gauntlet of different themes and incarnations. Whereas Batman may have become known for hundreds of gadget-wielding action figures, the Ninja Turtles would become synonymous with dozens of historical and pop culture related embodiments; which would be replicated by Kenner in their "Legends of Batman" line.Batman action figures#Legends of Batman Varying concepts and toy trends resulted in the many examples shown below.
Basic series figures taking on various looks; Leo, the Sewer Samurai, Don, the Undercover Turtle, Mike, the Sewer Surfer, and Raph, the Space Cadet. (1990) Also released with the basic line were the four turtles with Storage Shell. Each action figure had an opening back shell which could store the various accessories each figure was packaged with. Donatello would be released in 1990 and the remaining three the following year. Mutant Military - Different forms of military - Lieutenant Leo, Pro Pilot Don, Midshipman Mike, and Raph, the Green Teen Beret. (1991) Rock'n Rollin' - Vibrant musical gimmicks; Classic Rocker Leo, Punker Don, Rappin' Mike, and Heavy metal Raph. (1991) Sewer Sports All-Stars - Sport-themed figures with action features; Among others, T.D. Tossin' Leo, Slam Dunkin' Don, Shell Slammin' Mike, and Grand Slammin' Raph. (1991) Wacky Wild West - The Ninja Turtles taking on the Old West; Chief Leo, Crazy Cowboy Don, Bandito-Bashin' Mike, and Sewer Scout Raph.(1992) Cave-Turtles - Stone Age "Collectible Turtle Combo" boxsets; Among others, Leo and his Dingy Dino, Don and his Trippy Tyrannosaurus, Mike and his Silly Stegosaurus, and Raph and his Tubular Pterodactyl. (1992-'93) Turtle Trolls - A take on the early 1990s troll doll craze; Leo, Don, Mike, and Raph featuring tall, synthetic hair and childlike appearances. (1993) Universal Studios Monsters - Classic monster-themed figures; Among others, Leo as the Wolfman, Don as Dracula, Mike as Frankenstein's monster, Raph as the Mummy, and Bride of Frankenstein April. (1993-'94) Star Trek - A crossover due to Playmates' owning both Star Trek and TMNT licenses; Captain Leonardo, First Officer (Star Trek) Don, Chief Engineer Michelangelo, and Chief Medical Officer Raphael. (1994) Adventurers - Figures dressed for adventuring; Deep Sea Diver Leonardo, Arctic Donatello, and Safari Michelangelo. (1995) Jim Lee's TMNT - Majorly restyled Ninja Turtle figures based on the designs of famous comic book artist Jim Lee. (1995) Mutant Masters - The Ninja Turtles sporting Anime inspired armor as "ancient mythic warriors"; Leonardo Wind Warrior, Donatello Water Warrior, Michelangelo Thunder Warrior, and Raphael Fire Warrior. (1997)
Even with the silliest of concepts, Playmates managed to create some intriguing and fun figure designs for children. In contrast to other companies like Kenner, who constantly re-released figure sculpts with different paint jobs, Playmates rarely showed a cheap or careless effort in their TMNT figures. But with rising competition, limited figure concepts, and the end of the cartoon series, a pitfall was inevitable.
Movie Stars and Toon Turtles By the second, less violent TMNT film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Playmates decided to create a figure collection based on the characters' live-action appearance. In contrast to the regular figures, these were made of a softer, more rubbery material to better reflect the look of the animatronic costumes used in the films. They also featured ball joints at the neck, shoulders, and hips, and each figure came with a small, canister of Ooze. In terms of character variety, however, the Movie Stars collections were in stark contrast to the wide variety seen in the basic figure lines.