NECA’s amazing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle line based on the 1987 cartoon is back with the dynamic duo of Wingnut and Screwloose! These two appeared in one episode as aliens who were creating an invasion army by hypnotizing kids at a military school. Fortunately, Zach, the fifth turtle, helped the Shellbacks foil their nefarious plot. Let’s take a look!
The box is the usual fare for this line with a big open window and cool cartoon art on the front and nice photography on the sides and back, but the first thing that jumped out at me is it is a bit thicker than the usual two-pack box. Wingnut is a bit of a hefty guy with massive wings, so he needs some extra box space.
The set comes with Wingnut and Screwloose figures, a laser rifle, three sets of hands for Wingnut (fist, claw, grip), a flight stand, some comics, and a sticker sheet.
The comics are little sheets of paper you can fold in half to make episode specific comics for your TMNT figures to read. It’s a fun inclusion especially since Zach gets in trouble in the Wingnut episode since the comics fire up his imagination so much that he keeps calling the authorities reporting alien invasions that don’t materialize. The sticker sheet has a wanted poster for one of the Crooked Ninja Turtle gang, a “W” symbol you can add to Wingnut for a more action figure feel, and a secret map for the inside of Splinter’s robe. Fun stuff.
The flight stand has height adjustment and two hinges in the arm and a claw that can be swiveled. Wingnut is a little too hefty to use it, but it works really well with Screwloose.
The rifle is a pretty solid chunk of plastic that captures the sci-fi aesthetic of the ’87 show perfectly. The grip hands and claw hands work well to hold the rifle left or right-handed.
Sculpting on these two is great and captures that animated feeling exactly. The characters look on model and I absolutely love the heft and bulk on Wingnut. He’s a pretty chunky boy and the expression is pretty crazed. I always imagined this guy as a comic book geek who got mutated into a bat (hence the very Batman costume) and I could see these two as a fairly unhinged vigilante pair.
I also love the very convincing way they sculpted how the tiny organic wings are strapped to and enhanced by a cobbled together set of metallic wings. They have a great DIY feel to them with those giant rivets and metal plates. Screwloose also has a pretty wicked expression and I’m impressed that they were able to render that bizarre nose in 3D so well. I don’t know if this is intentional, but I was able to easily swap the hands between the four arms to vary posing a bit.
Articulation is keeping with the established style for this line, but I like how both of these flyers can actually look up pretty well and the range of motion in Wingnut’s mid-torso ball and socket joint. Wingnut has:
- Swivel/hinged shoulders, wrists, hips, tail, wings, and ankles
- Ball and socket mid-torso, neck, and head
- Double hinged elbows that swivel at each end
- Hinged knees
Screwloose is pretty well articulated too, though his mid-torso range of motion isn’t as nice as Wingnut’s. Screwloose has:
- Swivel/hinged shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, wings, and ankles
- Ball and socket head and mid-torso
Paint on these guys is so nice and smooth, with a great matte finish and clean applications on all the little black lines that highlight the sculpted detail. Overall these two are another great set of mutants to add to your cartoon Ninja Turtle collection and a ton of fun to play with. Wingnut is an impressively chunky slab of a figure, but really moves well considering the bulk and Screwloose exudes a ton of personality from every angle. The set should be hitting Targets in November, and NECA will have a small quantity up for pre-order next Tuesday morning on thenecastore.com.
Special thanks to Trevor, Randy, and Blaine at NECA for sending these out for an early look and stay tuned to Fwoosh for more Ninja Turtles goodness tomorrow!
Source: Fwoosh