Review: Ninja Turtles 2014 movie figures

Once upon a time in the late 80s/early 90s Playmates made a load of Turtles toys, most of which never reached the shores of the UK. The situation was repeated during the early 00s. These days (the early 10s for those reading in the future) it's not quite so bad and, as far as I know, we're getting most things in a reasonably timely fashion, including the 2014 movie toys which arrived over the summer.

Of course, the movie itself won't be out here until later this month. It was out ages and ages ago everywhere else in the world but we're having to wait. I presume this is so that we'll have forgotten about all the bad reviews it received elsewhere.

As such, during this review I'll be able to tell you absolutely nothing about how these toys relate to their counterparts on the big screen. Instead, I'll talk simply about the toys themselves.

Review: Trash Pack Trash Cans

I can't say enough good things about the Trash Pack. They're small, squishy, slightly disgusting and lots of fun. Plus - very useful with collectable toys - it really doesn't matter if you get duplicates.

One of the other great things about Trash Pack is that all the packs come with little trash cans (or 'rubbish bins', though since they're 'Trash' Pack I'll stick with 'can'). There are three sizes, and (currently) four colours - green for series 1, orange for 2, blue for 3, and red for the Ultimate Fighting Trashies (plus a modified red design for series 4). It's nice being able to keep what is essentially the packaging and is a reminder of MUSCLE toys from back in the 80s.

Review: Space Precinct

In the 60s everything Gerry Anderson touched was gold. Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet - all time classic television. Afterwards, however, things went downhill a little. Space 1999 was...well, there are people who love it, but generally it's held in no where near as high a regard as the puppet series were. Terrahawks passed most people by unnoticed.

Then in the mid-90s, Anderson had another go at a live-action sci-fi series. Space Precinct confused a lot of people as to whom, exactly, it was supposed to be aimed at. Most of the episodes ranged from 'okay' to 'a bit crappy', although the two-part series finale was excellent. But of course by then it was too late.

Do you remember How Do They Do That? A show on the BBC broadcast around the same time as Space Precinct which featured...well, it's kind of obvious really. It answered lots of viewers questions about how certain things were done. There were quite a lot of explanations for the effects done in adverts, from what I recall. At the time the answers tended to feature a lot of camera trickery and clever set-building. These days I suppose it could all be summed up as 'CGI'.

Anyway, one week they featured an item on how a small British company had managed to get hold of an international toy licence for a top science fiction show. It was a very good question, I mean just look at the figures they made...

Toyologist Review: Lightning McQueen Feature Plush

£24.99 from Toys R Us.


Lightning McQueen Feature Plush Review Crossword!

Across
7. The manufacturer of this toy.
10. Noises are activated when you place a ____ key on Lightning McQueen.
11. The length of the car in cm (6,4).
14. Lightning is recommended for ages ___ and up.
15. One of the directors of Cars 2 (4, 8).
16. Lightning has a 'walking' action, which it does very, very ___
17. Lightning McQueen's catchphrase in the film and said by the toy!

Down
1. The sound is extremely ___
2. Batteries are ___ !
3. The number of AA batteries Lightning takes.
4. Lightning has problems walking on this.
5. One of the production companies that made Cars 2.
6. Lightning's nickname in the films.
8. The other director of Cars 2 (4,5).
9. The voice of Lightning in the film, and probably the toy, but it's a bit hard to tell for sure (4,6).
12. The fictional make of tyres Lightning uses.
13. The other production company that made Cars 2.
15. The month Cars 2 was released in cinemas in the UK.