When I first saw the TMNT Minimates figures by Diamond Select, I was not completely sold on their design. However, they began to grow on me and each series saw better quality in terms of the actual figures themselves and character selection. The character selection was something that no other company was providing.
Now in Series 3, and none of the above has changed. I finally hopped on board and picked up a few TMNT Minimates. Why now, you ask? Keep reading to find out!
The TMNT Minimates figures come in two packs on blister cards when purchased from Toys R Us. Each two pack costs $7.49. There is only one main difference between the two packs and the blind bags: the blister card figures contain keyrings (and obviously you are only getting one figure in the blind bags and it is a mystery).
As you can see, the back of the cards contain all of the figures that are in the same series as the figures you bought. In this case, these are all of the figures that can be purchased from Toys R Us in series 3. However, these are not all of the figures in series 3 as there are exclusives in the blind bag versions. Sometimes Toys R Us will have an exclusive as well. To my knowledge, they do not have an exclusive for series 3. UPDATE: I was just informed that the Battle-Ready Shredder is actually the Toys R Us exclusive for series 3! (Thanks, Zach!)
Each package contains slots for accessories and of course the figures themselves. Underneath each figure, you will find the keyrings along with the round figure stands.
The Slash and Vision Quest turtles are honestly what made me finally pull the trigger on Minimates. These are Vision Quest turtle figures done right. It was almost like Diamond Select Toys was listening to the fan complaints about other toy companies because they are adding figures and accessories that the consumer wants. Now that is a toy company that I can get behind and I did just that!
First, let’s have a look at Vision Quest Raph. The attention to detail is unreal for these figures. Then you remember that they are only about 2″ tall and you just smile and shake your head.
The Good: As I just mentioned, the detail is incredible on these figures. From the sculpted parts on the shell, torso and wraps to all of the paint apps, it’s fantastic. Literally EVERYTHING is painted on this figure. It’s not just painted but painted in the correct color and tone as well. I love that Diamond Select used gray instead of red on all of the wraps and sculpted belt/suspenders. They even painted Raph’s mask a dull red instead of bright right. The solid white fighting eyes are how they should be too! This is the Vision Quest Raphael that I saw on the Nickelodeon cartoon and was blown away by. An absolutely wonderful interpretation of the character design by Diamond Select!
The articulation of this figure is very impressive too. We get articulation in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and neck.
The accessories for Raphael, and all of the figures I have seen thus far in this line, are top notch. We get the steel claws, a new set of weapons that Raph used in the cartoon series, some fire shooters, a circle stand with a Japanese symbol instead of the normal sewer lid stand that the turtles normally come with and of course Raph’s classic weapons, sais.
I was also pleasantly surprised when I popped off Raph’s hood to discover a Minimates head with a painted red bandana, eyes and a mouth. Very cool!
The Not So Good: Not many complaints here! My main gripe would be that Raph’s hands come off easier than I would like them too. It makes changing weapons a little tedious because the weapons fit snug inside the hands and pulling them out will usually cause the hands to pull out of the arms. Speaking of the hands, I wasn’t a fan of the hand designs in general for these figures but they have grown on me and I don’t mind them anymore. You may also notice a little red paint on Raph’s face where it shouldn’t be. I have come across some sloppy paint jobs while browsing through the figures at Toys R Us.
It was to the point where I actually didn’t purchase the figures because of the sloppiness and I was worried that these figures would be sloppy as I ordered them online. Luckily, when they arrived the little red spot on Raph’s face, underneath the hood, was the only problem I encountered and it was far from a big deal. Honestly, I would rather have some sloppiness, as long as it isn’t too bad, than no paint! I can only imagine how hard it must be to paint this much detail on a tiny figure.
Now, let’s have a look at Raph’s mutated pet turtle: Slash!
The Good: In my opinion, Slash is the best figure in the TMNT Minimates line to date. Like Vision Quest Raph, nothing went unpainted on this figure. Every tiny bump is painted yellow, fingernails, toenails are all yellow as well and even an arm band is painted red on each arm. The shell sculpt is fantastic (as you can see in the pics up the page a bit) and they even sculpted a little tie for the bandanna on the back of Slash’s head. Tiny grooves/detail on the chest, torso and all of the wraps are done so perfectly. Of course the silver “S” on Slash’s belt is painted too!
Slash comes with his signature mace weapon and a clear circle stand that the supporting characters of this line normally come with.
Slash contains articulation in his shoulders, elbows, knees, hips and waist. It’s so cool that Diamond Select used different hands and feet for Slash too rather than just going with a basic molded hand with no fingers cut out.
The Not So Good: Again, same as Vision Quest Raph, very few complaints! The neck on Slash is not articulated, which can kind of make for some awkward poses, but he’s big and bulky so I probably won’t pose him in too many different ways. There is also no articulation in the wrists. This could also take away from some different poses. Seriously though, there is nothing else and even those gripes are a bit picky! I like this Slash figure better than Playmates Toys’ Nickelodeon Slash, hands down.
Thank you for reading and be on the lookout for TMNT Minimates series 3 as they are shipping to stores now! For you online shoppers, all of the figures are currently in stock on ToysRUs.com as we speak. Get em’!
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