2012 Leonardo TMNT

Here I have the fearless leader of the Ninja Turtles, Leonardo.  I like Leonardo, the ability to whip his swords around always impressed me and he is my second favourite of the TMNT.  This new Leo is just as good as the other Turtles and I think that will do for his intro.

 

 

 

He uses the usual blister carding and looking at the colours, I think you’ll be hard pressed to not see these on the shelves.  On the back has an exposition of Leo and a shot of him from the new show.  I was interested to see that despite the toy not having pupils/irises, it would seem the show models have both.  To be honest though with the classic TMNT toys having pupils, I am glad the opted for blank eyes in these toys as I would rather no pupils than badly applied ones.  The small size could have been an issue, plus it is a nice through back to the other Ninja Turtles that didn’t have any details in their eyes.

 

Leos’s blister is quite compact and shows off his twin katana nicely.  Once again he has a weapons tree full of optional weapons. 

 

It looks like we have a couple of Ninja stars, once again different to the other Turtles’, some throwing knives, a stabby dagger that I think is a bit too small for his hands and a heavy bladed Katana.  I was thinking that this might be a two handed sword, but katana are two handed swords anyway…  Which makes me think that a Ninja is probably not likely to use a katana, but a short sword of some sort.

 

 

Leonardo’s sheath for his swords is attached, but can be taken off if so desired.  The problem with that though is it is made of a rubbery plastic and so is the tab that goes onto the adjoining hole, so it can be a bit tricky to get back in.  It’s not hard, but took me a bit longer than I initially thought.

 

 

One contrast against the 90s Turtles is that his swords are both aligned the same way, instead of being crossed over on the back.  I quite like this look as it makes him look a tad sleeker than before.  If we get realistic here (HA!) Leo would probably have a bit of an issue trying to reach around due to his shell. But luckily, we are talking mutated bipedal tortoises (wrongly named turtles) here, so logic can go and take a break for a bit thanks.

 

Unlike the Foot Soldier the swords stick in really well.  From the right angle, you can make him look like he is grabbing his weapons.

 

 

Of course he looks bloody cool as well.  I really like the brace that goes over the shoulder, the dual buckles are painted nicely and once again, his shell is a new sculpt with little scratches and such along it.  Brilliant!  The part of the shell that covers the top of his thigh is soft plastic and bends a touch allowing for full movement of the joint, which admittedly isn’t that much, but enough.

 

 

once again, he has the same joint set up as Don, which is knee, hip, elbow and shoulder all being hinged and swivels, swivel at the wrists and a ball jointed neck. they Are covered by the elbow/knee pads which drops the range a little, but does hide them really well.  no ankle joints.

 

His head sculpt is really good.  actually after looking at all the Turtles together, they all have quite different shaped heads.  They are so individual, but similar it’s great!  He has a furrowed brow and long flowing ties off the back of his mask.

 

 

One thing in particular I feel I should mention is the brilliant mouth sculpt.   What I love about Leo in particular is how versatile it is.  From the left side, you can make him look like he has a regular smile, but change sides and he is all angry!  It’s an amazing effect that is so simple. Michelangelo has this as well, but it isn’t as effective.  Donatello doesn’t and Raphael, well that guy’s just always angry from any angle.

 

Smiling                                        and                     I’m gonna kick your arse!!

 

Man I absolutely ADORE how that has been done and take my hat off to whoever thought of that.  Plus it makes me want to bake them a yummy cake too!

 

Leo also has his toe prints, which, yep, are different to Donatello’s and the other Turtles too.

 

 

I think that this toy is a great representation of Leonardo.  It’s a good size for matching up with other toys lines and stands well next to others in the line.  Such as Shredder.

 

 

Let’s have a look at his weapons now shall we?  He comes with two Katana as his standard weapons, which are differently sculpted from the Shredder and Foot soldier toys.  They are a little bit sturdier and because they have thicker handles they stick quite well in his turtle hands.

 

The second photo above is the large bladed katana.  It i thicker and made me wonder if it’s the Japanese equivalent of a broadsword.  Something to look into methinks.

 

Next up are the smaller weapons.  He also comes with 3 throwing knives and his other knife.

 

 

I really like the throwing knives.  You could tie some string on them and make them like the “Get over here” move of Scorpion’s from Mortal Kombat.  The other small one is a little strange.  It is shaped almost like a fang and looks too small for the Turtles’ hands.  Might just leave that in the baggy.  They are the same grey that the regular swords are done from and it looks pretty good.

 

 

Man I love these Turtles!  AS I said before, Leonardo is a great interpretation of the character and I especially love the adaptable expression on his mouth.  Anyone who can dual wield swords is awesome in my book and the fact that he has such a good selection of extra weapons that work well with him make him high up on my love list.  So another new sculpt for the Turtles that makes him different from the rest.

 

They look similar but all have little differences to make them stand out.  I like the way Leonardo is the only Turtle that has bandages on his foot as opposed to the others that have leather straps.  The different face sculpts and toe prints, all these little details just add to the personality of each Turtle.  If you have to buy just one, I’d say Leo would be it.  But really, you should get them all, as they are all seriously good figures.