TMNT Manhole Project

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Check out this awesome, homemade TMNT manhole cover that Hans made!

Here's what Hans has to say about it:

My name is Hans and I've been an avid Turtle fan since the 80s. With the 25th Anniversary coming up I'm redecorating one of my bedrooms. I've come up with some great ideas and thought I'd just share one with you and anyone who would be interested if you decided to post it. If you look at the attached file, I made a custom mahole cover out of plywood, woodburning, paint, and plenty of free time. It took a couple days and the pics dont do justice. I'd recommend it as a fun craft project, plus it looks great on display. I only recommend patience and safety with the saw and woodburning!

You can take a look at the progress pictures of the manhole cover here. I think it's just fantastic!

UPDATE: Hans has provided pictures of the finished room!

eBay Auctions: Saint Turtle + TMNT Manga!

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I currently have some exciting Japanese TMNT items up for auction on eBay.

To the left you can see Saint Turtle, a Japanese-market exclusive TMNT action figure. It's about as awesome as action figures get.

Also available are five different volumes of the TMNT manga that adapts episodes of the original cartoon series.

You can view all of my eBay auctions here.

Good luck!

TMNT Flashback: Unpainted A.C. Farley Leonardo Bust

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Awhile ago I shared with you the bronze version of A.C. Farley's Leonardo bust. At the same time I mentioned that there was an unpainted version. I couldn't show it to you then because I didn't have it. Well, now I do, so here it is.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Girls

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Jenny sent me this video of herself, her friends, and her mom (go mom!) running around Chicago and saving it from evil zombies. Since I was completely amused by it and quite impressed with the amount of effort that they put into it, I'm sharing it with you. Happy Friday!

Michaelangelo Balloon(s)

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One of my best pals from High School, Erin, emailed this picture to me.

As I replied to her:
"That is awesome and yet equally disturbing!"

The more I look at it, the more I think that should be rephrased to, "That is awesomely disturbing!"

Iowa Flooding

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Brandon Stearns helps to remove flood-damaged items from his 83-year-old grandmother's home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Iowa's biggest cities were submerged Sunday after swollen rivers forced thousands of residents to flee their homes amid devastating floods in the Midwestern US state.

(AFP/Getty Images/Scott Olson)

eBay Auction: TMNT Fast Forward Plush Toys

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Here's something I never anticipated seeing. Ever.

These Fast Forward plush toys strike me as something you would find in an arcade claw game. What I can't help but love about them is the distinctly unique expressions each one is giving, and with a level of anger not typical of Fast Forward.

Mike and Don in particular seem a bit angry beyond their character. Although in this case I think I like it. Actually, it quite amuses me. ^_^

ebay auction #360061584150
Disclaimer: This is not my auction, I do not know the seller, and I cannot vouch for the seller.

NECA SDCC Exclusive Box Set Details Revealed

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NECA today released the details for the exclusive box set of Turtles they'll have at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego. The box will be virtually identical to the set that was available at New York Comic-Con, only this set will include the new black & white-painted variant Turtles.

Each set will come with a certificate signed by co-creator Peter Laird, and co-creator Kevin Eastman will be on hand to sign each box. This and the exclusive 3-pack of mousers certainly adds some special excitement for TMNT fans attending this year's Con!

You can read the full details about this exclusive at NECA's Web site.

Model & Toy Collector: 1991 TMNT Special

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In response to Ryan Brown's post on his blog today with the Fall 1988 issue of Model and Toy Collector, here's the cover to the monster "Special #3" issue that wasn't kidding when it called itself a 1991 Buying Guide.

This thing is PACKED full of the TMNT goodies. Interviews, art, product pictures, more art! There's even an article with pictures of Ryan's Hallowieners characters.

I think magazines often get overlooked a lot as far as collectibles go. Yeah, they're probably not something to invest in if you're looking to make a profit, but for a devoted fan they can be a wealth of information and pictures. Unfortunately, this holds more true for the magazines of 10-20 years ago. Current magazines tend to be more likely to all be recycling the same information and especially the same pictures. Not one magazine article about last year's TMNT movie had a unique picture. The article that appeared in the Sci-Fi Channel's magazine was so poorly written and full of misinformation that I couldn't even bring myself to purchase it.

Luckily, the TMNT hit their stride during a period of time when there was no Internet and underground fanzines and genre magazines were the only way to get information about your favorite comics, TV shows, and movies. Because of this, there is a seemingly endless supply of fantastic TMNT articles from a whole range of magazines. This particular issue of Model & Toy Collector is easily among the best of them. I'll keep in mind to post some of my other favorites in the future.

Dario Brizuela to Appear at Comic-Con!

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Dario Brizuela (probably my favorite of the new artists to hit the TMNT scene in recent years) has just announced on his blog that he will be appearing at San Diego Comic-Con at the IDW Publishing booth.

Hurrah!!

NECA Packaging: Clamshell vs. Tube

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I am doing a horrible job at restraining myself when it comes to these NECA figures. I really shouldn't need more than one of each, and since I open all of my toys, I shouldn't have anything in the packaging. Buuut... I decided awhile ago to keep one Mike in the clamshell packaging, since it's quite sharp looking. Then the "tube" packaging came out and I decided I'd get Mike in one of those, too. I had to go to eBay for that and I finally got him today. Above is a comparison of the two. It's hard to believe it's really the same figure!

I really like the tube packaging. I'd love to have a bunch of these to stack in a display! But no, I will restrain myself there. I have to stop somewhere. As it stands, I ended up with a second clamshell Mike that is still unopened, I have a basic box set on the way, not to mention the NYCC Exclusive set that I also have. Oy!

NASA TMNT Patch

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Let's face it, patches aren't just for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Grown-ups like patches, too. It's not uncommon for small groups and organizations to create custom patches. It's also, oddly, not uncommon for licensed characters to appear on these patches. I have some such patches from Boy Scouts and fire houses that feature Turtles, but this one for NASA is my favorite. It's also the only such patch I've seen that's used art from an official TMNT artist. Anything based on A.C. Farley's work is über-appealing to me!

UPDATE: Here's the official NASA page that explains the patch design: http://mplm.msfc.nasa.gov

The modules are named for significant engineers in Italian history, Rafaello, Leonardo and Donatello. This is the logo for the 3 Italian named modules developed by MPLM team members.  The logo, copyrighted by Mirage Studios, depicts a ninja turtle in an astronaut flight suit.   

A.C. Farley has also posted the artwork on his Facebook page, and had this to add:

They got in touch with Mirage and asked if we would do the patch. I got to do it because I am in love with the space program. They made enameled metal pins, embroidered patches and jackets and other stuff I never even seen.

Kirby, The Fifth Turtle

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Back when I posted about The Other Fourth Movie, someone requested to see the Kirby concept sketches from Kevin's Artobiography. Well, I just stumbled upon a snapshot of the sketches I took awhile ago, so here you are!

Eric Talbot Arts Again

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Eric Talbot has arted in his sketchbook yet again and shared the results on his blog. Lots of neat little details to check out on this one!

Leo and Usagi

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A few weeks ago Stan Sakai posted this drawing of Leonardo and Usagi Yojimbo by Peter Laird to his blog. I was going to post it here then, but Stan scanned it in so darn big that I was fighting a losing battle with my computer trying to clean it up and resize it. Well, as of yesterday I have a shiny new computer, and it was able to handle the original file just fine. ^_^

Check out the date on this one - Very old school!

TMNT Flashback: "Music Raph"

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In honor of the recently revealed "Music Don" action figure showcased at The 5th Turtle, here's a look at how a "Music Turtle" was interpreted by someone who actually knows something about Ninja Turtles, the fantabulous Ryan Brown.

T-shirt, guitar, and no crazy chap pants - What a concept!

Don't miss Playmates' defense for "Music Don", posted today by Murphy. Thanks for all the love, Playmates. We're sending it right back atcha.

Interview with Dan Berger

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Today, Newsarama has an interview with The Man himself, Dan Berger. Dan talks about what's on the horizon for the Tales of the TMNT title and a few other things. Admittedly, there isn't a whole lot of, if any, new info here, but it's always good to hear from Dan!

You can read the full interview here.

Tomorrow, Newsarama will have an interview with Steve Murphy.

TMNT: Back to the Sewer - Update

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This is a general post to acknowledge the existence of "TMNT: Back to the Sewer", the new season of the 4Kids cartoon that will begin airing this Fall.

Character style art has been drifting out through the fake "blog" on 4kids.tv for about the last month or so. And there was the big "reveal" of the logo on the same "blog," at The Fifth Turtle, and on ninjaturtles.com. I've purposely avoided reporting all of this because I haven't forgotten the pledge I made back in February.

I don't think there's much to report beyond the release of the character style art that you can see on the above Web sites. Oh, there was the theme song contest a couple months ago. If anyone missed out on that I could probably post the MP3s.

I'm going to continue to not acknowledge this series, although I'm sure I'll make a mention of it right before the premiere and I'll let you know what I think after the premiere.

Tales of the TMNT #46 Now Available

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Oops, I think I've slacked on posting comic releases lately.

So in case you weren't aware, Tales of the TMNT #46, "Temps" by Dan Berger and Jim Lawson, was released to comic shops last week. This story is set in the middle of the Volume 1 arc "City at War" and is one of the stronger issues of Tales we've seen lately.

If you haven't yet sporked your local comic shop into carrying the title, you can get it direct from Mirage at ninjaturtles.com.

Mini-Mutants Series 2 Now Shipping

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I found the second series of the Mini-Mutants figures in Target tonight. This series is based on the old 2K3 Paleo Patrol figures. Each Turtle comes decked in dinosaur garb and comes paired with its own dino creature... thing.

Pics of the three Turtles that were on the peg (Mike, Leo, Raph) are below. Don can be seen on the back of the card to the left.

I personally can't find anything worth spending money on in this series, so I happily left them all on the peg as I continue my boycott of crappy TMNT products (about 99% of what is available right now). Although I suppose these are still a billion times better than "Music Don."

Turtle Man

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Did you know there is a DC character known as Turtle Man, apparently an enemy of The Flash? Well, I can't say I know much of anything about The Flash, so this is brand new news to me.

In a complete bit of randomness tonight, I was digging through my comic boxes looking for stuff I could remove to make space for my new acquisitions. I found a book titled "Who's Who DC: A Definitive Directory of the DC Universe," which is pretty much what it sounds like. I put it in my discard pile (I'm pretty sure I got it as a give-away in a Con bag back at one of the old Minnesota comic shows), but before moving it to my eBay corner, where I'd throw it into a box as my own freebie, I took a closer look at the cover. This volume of the DC index included a "Turtle Man." So I opened it up to take a look and, amazingly, was met with a familiar style of art. Yes, this Turtle Man is penciled by none other than Peter Laird. Go figure!

And since I collect non-TMNT work by TMNT creators and artists, this book is saved from its forever fate of unwanted give-away item. Back into the box (this time with a bag and board)!

Random Picture

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Just because this is the view I'm constantly looking at while at my computer, and I had my camera handy, here's the top of my PC and the goodies that live there. From left to right there's a bootleg Saint Turtle figure, Yoda candy dish now a pencil (and sonic screwdriver) holder, small-scale unleashed Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mike figure, Mike lamp, small holographic Obi-Wans, and Jersey Devil.

I find the lamp to be a particularly curious item, as it's basically an old bubble bath soakie with a lamp stuck through it. As much as I never thought I needed such an item, my desk is too dark without the secondary light, so I really can't function on my computer without it.

Eric Talbot's Sketchbook

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Eric Talbot has updated his blog with this neato page full of Turtle (and Utrom!) goodness - Check it out!

Michael Dooney Lunchbox

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If I tried to tell you that I didn't collect lunch boxes it would only take one quick walkthrough of my apartment to call me a liar. Scattered around you'll find not only the occasional TMNT lunch box, but also Star Wars and Hello Kitty. But really, I'm not a lunch box collector.

I am, however, a collector of "neat stuff," and over the years I have acquired a pile of lunch boxes that I've determined to fall into this category. All of the TMNT lunch boxes I've made a point of getting have one thing in common: Fantastic art. And, to my knowledge, art that is completely unique to them.

Pictured above is a recent eBay acquisition; a lunch box featuring art by Michael Dooney. I also love this one because the lunch box style is so unique and not your standard box design. The other TMNT lunch boxes I have that I'm incredibly fond of feature art by Chris Allen and A.C. Farley. Perhaps I'll feature those in the future.

NECA SDCC Exclusive Revealed?

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Ectopaul found this link, a Japanese Web site that seems to reveal that NECA will have an exclusive Mouser 3-pack for sale at San Diego Comic-Con this July.

Murphy has previously revealed that there would be an exclusive boxed set at SDCC similar to the set that was for sale at New York Comic-Con, but with an additional accessory. So does that mean that there may be two exclusives in the works?

We'll see if Murphy can confirm anything in the next day or so.

Update: Murphy's official comment on the above picture is "No comment." I think it's safe to take that as an unofficial official confirmation. :D

TMNT Flashback: Coloring Contest

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I found this piece in a promotional packet for the first TMNT movie. I find it particularly amusing because the transition from real picture to black and white line drawing wasn't completely successful. Mike and Raph don't look too horrible, Splinter just kinda looks sad, but both Don and Leo seem to have growths on their shoulders.

If anyone wants to take a crack at actually coloring it, feel free to email your effort to me.

eBay Auction: "The Hollywood Store"

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Here's an interesting piece of art that has appeared on eBay. Titled "The Hollywood Store," I don't know what the intended use or purpose of this piece was (maybe there actually was such a store - wouldn't be much of a stretch), but amongst several familiar names and faces are two rock and roll Turtles (Mike and Leo, it looks like). Interesting that the artist would choose the Coming Out of Their Shells Turtles to depict... although more likely it was the first and/or only reference material they had to go by.

eBay auction #110252129381
Disclaimer: This is not my auction, I do not know the seller, and I cannot vouch for the seller.

The Other Fourth Movie

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When TMNT hit movie screens last year, it was the green guys' fourth big-screen adventure, with a 14 year gap since the last one. You may or may not be aware that a fourth adventure almost came much sooner, in the form of a live action movie.

Obviously that movie never happened, but it seems like production got further along that I ever expected it did. I recently purchased a 1996 Playmates toy catalog where to my surprise I found this page teasing this movie and the toys that Playmates intended to tie into it.

Details of this proposed movie aren't well documented, but it is known that it was to involve a 5th Turtle, who would have been named Kirby (after Jack Kirby) - Concept sketches of Kirby can be seen in the front and back cover of Kevin Eastman's Artobiography book. This page uses Michael Dooney art created for the TMNT magazine (Fall '92 issue) with a Turtle-in-shadow also featured (I believe the shadow was created using a piece of Leonardo art, also by Michael Dooney, that was used as a pinup poster in the TMNT magazine). The Turtle-in-shadow would presumably be Kirby.

The only plot hints given on this page, which don't include any talk of a 5th Turtle, are in the description of "a weird world of parallel dimensions and gothic proportions." Winter '96 is the given release date.

Japanese Phone Charms

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Here are some TMNT phone charms that I recently purchased from Japan (it'll probably be at least two months before I receive them, alas).

This kind of item is often bootlegged, so it's hard to tell if these are official without holding them in hand. Whether or not they are official, these items appealed to me because they are obviously molded after drawings done by AC Farley, one of my favorite TMNT artists. NinjaTurtles.com actually used to use these drawings on the profile pages of each Turtle.

You can also check out a back view and an alternate front scan.

eBay Auctions: TMNT Manga!

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Yes, I'm going to shamelessly pimp my own auctions.

I just imported some of the TMNT manga that adapted episodes of the original cartoon and I'm selling the extras on eBay.

When I describe these as super rare, I'm not kidding - I scour eBay every day for TMNT stuff, and I can't tell you that I've EVER seen these available before.

Volumes 1-5 are up for auction right now! You can click here to view all of the auctions and bid! Good luck!

TMNT 3 Press Photo: Paige Turco with Elias Koteas

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I recently purchased a TMNT 3 press kit off eBay that included seven color slides. I received the kit today and was amazed at this particular slide, as I can't say I've ever see this photo before. And because it's such an adorable picture, I had to scan it and share it right away!!

25th Anniversary "Shell-abration" Plans Teased

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Murphy has posted the 25th anniversary logo (left) and a link to a brief article outlining Mirage's relationship with Peppercom, the PR agency that will be in charge of next year's 25th anniversary activities.

While no specific details are given, some basic ideas are alluded to.

• TMNT will have a significant presence at Toy Fair and Comic-Con (I'm assuming San Diego).
• In some fashion, the Turtles will "tour" the US.
• The campaign will focus on both old fans and new fans.

Murphy has previously announced at The 5th Turtle that as part of the 25th anniversary celebration, Mirage will publish a trade paperback of the first run of Volume 1 comics ("remastered" versions), a "very special" expanded reprint of TMNT #1, and the long-awaiting final tale of the TMNT Adventures universe, The Forever War.

The TMNT made their comic book debut on May 5, 1984, which is the date used to mark their official anniversary.