Ninja Turtles are a fictional group of four turtle mutants trained in Ninjutsu. They battle evil megalomaniacs, petty criminals and alien invaders from their home in the sewers of Manhattan. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) made their first appearance in comic books and later on they were merchandised as toys.
One of the first licensed Ninja Turtles toys was a pen and paper RPG titled ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness’. It featured the original comic book illustrations by Eastman and Laird.
In 1986, Dark Horse Miniatures in Boise, Idaho produced the first set of lead Ninja Turtle toys. The later versions of this Ninja Turtle toy sported multicoloured bandanas that helped the young readers distinguish between the different characters.
Playmates Toys ventured into the production of TMNT action figures during the telecast of the 1987 TV series of Ninja Turtles. However, the Ninja Turtle toys hit the stores a year after the shows were aired. ‘Farmer Mike’, ‘Classic Rocker Leo’ and ‘Rocksteady’ were some of the characters that were made into Ninja Turtles toys. Later on, Playmates included the vehicles, play sets and accessories used by the Ninja Turtles.
The creative designers of Playmate toys came out with various Ninja Turtle concepts that captured the collective imagination of young children. In 1992, they produced ‘Toon Turtles’ that had a friendly, animated appearance. They also designed toys like ‘Ninja Turtle Transport Combos’ that contained a single Ninja Turtle figure and two vehicles. ‘Turtle in a Turtle’ playsets had the figures of the four Ninja turtles about half a foot taller than the normal figure. The stomachs, heads and shells of these Ninja Turtle toys opened into the playsets.
Another creation was the figure collection based on the Ninja Turtles’ live-action appearance. Made of a softer material, these Ninja Turtles toys resembled the Ninja Turtles portrayed in movies. The Movie Stars collections were very different from the earlier toys. Playmates still continues to produce Ninja Turtle action figures based on the 2003 animated series. The 2007 film TMNT gave Playmates Toys a new source of inspiration to create Ninja Turtle toys. In September 2007, NECA announced that they would create Ninja Turtle figures based on the design that the characters had in the original Mirage comics. April 2008 saw the release of four of these toy Ninja Turtles with their weapons and two alternate hands.
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