Review of Donatello - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Exclusive Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have gone through plenty of design changes since that very first sketch on a napkin, but their original comic book designs remain a nostalgic favorite. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, Mondo started taking orders for a set of four sixth scale figures, based on the classic look.  The second of the four - Donatello - just started shipping.

There were two versions of Don (as with all four of the figures), a regular and an exclusive. You could only get the exclusive through Mondo, and he was limited to just 500 produced. I'll be looking at the exclusive tonight, but there's only one additional accessory, making the difference pretty clear.

This guy will run you around $150, at least if you're going for the regular release. He's still available through various retailers, but the exclusive is long sold out.

Packaging - ***
The outer box artwork matches with Don, and I like the overall design. It's definitely attractive, and they've included an embossed sticker to indicate the exclusive.

The trays inside the Leo box were tough to work with, but they seem to have improved the fit of the various accessories with Don. It was much easier to remove the shurikens, and it didn't feel like I would need to tear anything out of the tray to free it.

They do use three twist ties on the figure itself to hold it in place, and you know how much I hate twisties. But overall it's collector friendly, attractive, and sturdy.

Sculpting - ***
They've tried to cover both the original cartoon and comics with these figures, and I think they've pulled it off admirably. These are sixth scale, coming in at about 10" tall, and it looks about right to my eye. Of course, it depends on how tall you think the turtles should be next to a human, but the two inch difference works for me.

Don comes with two heads (as do all four releases), but his are identical except for the mask color. I suppose they figured Don would be the stoic, serious one, no matter cartoon or comic.

There's some texturing and cross hatching on the surface of the shell and body, but I'd like to see a little more. I think it would give them the kind of detail something in this scale really requires, and match the source material even better. Check out the old 7" scale NECA versions for an example of what I'm talking about.

Don stands great on his own thanks to those huge feet, and the gripping hands are sculpted to work with the various accessories.

Paint - ***
The paint work is relatively clean, although there's a bit of slop around the white eyes on both heads. Remember, these are big figures, so those eyes aren't nearly as tiny as you might expect.

The skin looks a little darker green to me, and they managed to get a better match between the plastic of the limbs and the discs for the joints, especially on the knees. The difference was pretty obvious with Leo, but it's much less distracting here.

However, the dirty, weathered effect isn't working any better for me this time than it was with Leo. Don has smudges and dark areas here and there on both his skin and the shell, and it looks less like realistic dirt and more like sloppy paint. I know what they are going for, but it's not really working at this scale.

The purple bandana is the cartoon look, while the red based on the comic.

Articulation - ***1/2
Let's start at the top, and work our way down.

Both heads have an articulated bandana tail. It attaches to the back of the head on a post with a ball at the end, allowing the piece to turn and tilt. Be very careful though - the post is thin, and if the tail piece is painted tight, it could tear off when you twist it. Make sure you carefully break the joint free before really torquing it.

The neck is also a ball joint, and about the truest form of ball joint you can get. The entire top of the neck just pops up into the bottom of the head, and the head turns and leans on this neck. It works well, although you will find the head popping off pretty easily.

Everything else is rotating hinge joints - shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, wrists, and ankles. They all work pretty well, with just some basic restrictions imposed by the sculpting.  You can get deeper stances, and the rocker movement in the ankles allow the feet to remain flat on the ground.

The tail has a cut joint at the body, and if you'd like to remove it, you can pop it off pretty easily.

Accessories - ***1/2
If I were going just off quantity, this would have gone the full four stars here. But I'm also considering re-use and originality, and there's a lot of the former, and not much of the latter.

There's two heads, but they're identical except for the color of the bandana. Like Leo, he also has two four point shurikens, two eight point shurikens, a grappling hook with attached rope, a Utrom blaster, an extra set of climbing hands, and a baby pre-mutation turtle. These were all available with Leo, and while it's fantastic to get so many extras, your enthusiasm is slightly dampened by the re-use.

His unique extras include his bo staff, his thumbs up right hand, and the ugly Utrom Commander. The commander is easily my favorite of his extras, with a terrific sculpt and paint job.

The bo fits neatly in his hands and is properly scaled, and he has a 'holster' for it on the back of his belt. The hands all swap easily enough, and they stay in place once swapped.

The exclusive version includes one additional extra - Don's Gravitic Equalizer. This can actually fit on either arm, if you don't mind it being upside down on the left. As you can see in the photo above, I don't.

Putting it on can be a little tricky, but if you pop the hand off, put it in place through the front of the device first, and then attach the hand and device to the forearm as one, you'll be much better off.

Fun Factor - ***
This guy is a lot of fun, and as the team fills out, each one gets more fun. Once we have the full set of four, the group will be great to pose and display together. Until then, Leo and Don feel a little lonely, but I'm sure they'll get over it.

By the way, if his tail bothers you - in certain poses and from certain angles it might make you feel inadequate - you can pop it off pretty easily. I removed it for the photo below as an example.

Value - **
The harsh reality is that for many collectors, these will look like big action figures, not high end sixth scale collectibles. They do have a bit of the look, and it's hard to deny. The $150 price tag can be tough to swallow, especially considering all the re-use. At least with the exclusive, you're getting a fairly low run on the specific character.

Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful when twisting the tail of the bandana. The small post that attaches it to the head is pretty thin, and if the piece is paint stuck, you could tear it off.

Overall - ***
No real surprise here - Leo and Don are pretty much identical. There's lots of re-use of course, but I do like the additional extras you get, particularly the Utrom Commander. When I ordered the exclusives, I had to pay for them up front with Mondo - no waiting til they ship with their store. I was worried it was a mistake, but as the team slowly builds on the shelf, I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the decision to pull the trigger on the full set of exclusives.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
The exclusive is long sold out through Mondo, but you can still get the regular from them for $150. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $150, but has free shipping!

- Sideshow also has him at $150.

- and if you have your heart set on the exclusive, you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered the first figure in the set, Leonardo, as well as the Mousers. The greatest small versions of the comic Turtles were done by NECA, many years ago. Playmates recently did their own take on the Eastman versions. And don't forget Mondo's 'First Turtle' figure, released earlier this year.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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