There's a snake in my foot!

Chasing down the last figures I need to complete my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Playmates is proving to be harder than I thought. Luckily with the help of some dedicated and obsessive friends who also happen to be TMNT collectors, I manage to add one important figure to my collection, and one that wasn't as necessary but is also nice to have:

Scale Tail and Movie Star Foot Soldier Both figures come from the 1992 wave from Playmates, released just between the second and third TMNT live action movies. The Foot Soldier is from the sub-series of figures called Movie Stars (that included the turtles, Super Shredder from the second film, Master Splinter and others). "So, I'll just stand here... Henching... Until my shift is up..."

The Foot Soldier was the only one that didn't crash with my collection. I don't need two Splinters, but these guys were henchmen, army builders, so is not bad to have a movie one and a regular one. (Actually I own a Super Shredder, but I still don't have a regular one... Oh, the shame, the shame). I got Movie Star Foot Soldier used and it shows, the paint is not in the best condition but there's nothing too bad either, the joints are not loose. Here the sculpting fell a little behind, since in the movie the Foot Soldiers were guys in ninja costumes, they had to show him with human proportions. I have to admit I like the original, ape-like robot Foot Soldier best. Scale Tail, on the other hand is wonderful. Playmates didn't reuse parts for their TMNT lines, so the sculpting is original, with tons of bizarre little details. The lack of an unique buck (Hello, Mattel!), gave them the freedom to create, for example, a character with no legs but a fully articulated tail to stand. "I also have a gun on my tail... With a snake on it!"

Similar to Masters of the Universe's King Hiss, Scale Tail's right arm is not just a part of the snake he already is, but is formed by three little snakes that come out of the first snake's torso... Where the Hell in nature does that happen? When did snakes get arms in the first place? The paint in this case is much better preserved and he's an incredibly colorful addition to the shelf, as most Playmates TMNT usually are. And as for the bizarre details, just check Scale Tail's tongue. "I can give you a French kiss... Of death!"

Yes, that's a forked blaster gun coming out of his mouth. This might even be better than MerDude's Knee pads... I never owned a Scale Tail when I was a kid, but I'm starting to think that he would have been one of my favorites, there's just a lot to get from a Snake with a three snakes arm, a snake gun on his tail and a gun in his mouth, the play stories are countless and the crossovers very possible. Until next time. COBRA!
Posted by Tom Freak at 10:54 PM Labels: TMNT fishmilkshake said...

"Henching"! Ha ha, I love it!

January 31, 2010 at 2:02 AM Bubbashelby said...

I've recently gotten both of these guys from the swap meet - I see TMNT figures often (although they aren't always complete.)

Keep me posted on which figures you need and I can keep my eyes peeled for you!

January 31, 2010 at 9:02 AM chrismandesign said...
January 31, 2010 at 10:50 AM TMNT... i saw the regular series but it wasn’t as attractive to me as GIJOE for example... Playmates’ figures have always that vintage touch that i can’t explain, even the recent series & some vintage figures are great for me... sorry that the star foot soldier is a ltl scoring but i know that some pieces from TMNT are hard to get so, congrats !!! ... obviously, the scale tail (should i say freak tale???) has a wonderful colour scheme, so brilliant & a lot of possibilities to attack enemies (myb too much !) i like this one much more ofc =)

January 31, 2010 at 10:54 AM Freak Studio said...

@FMS:I have to give credit to the writers of Venture Brothers for that one. I think that was the first time I heard the word.

@Bubba: Thanks mate, that's very generous of you.

@Chris: Sure, Scale Tail was the real score here, the Foot Soldier was a nice addition, but not a really necessary one. Glad you like them.

February 3, 2010 at 4:32 PM AAAGGGHHH!!! said...

Woah! Scale Tail looks awesome! Thanks for turning me on to some figures I didnt know about, great blog!

May 3, 2010 at 7:38 PM Thanks AAAAAGH (am I pronouncing it correctly?), and welcome to the blog.
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