Four distinctive Ninja Turtles living in the sewers, piloting giant robots that represent them in battle—who would have thought it would be this awesome!? A collaboration between Snap Design, HEATBOYS, and Taiwanese illustrator "Kusanagi," officially licensed by Nickelodeon, brings us the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" themed die-cast action figure line—Mecha Ninja Turtles. Following the big brother, "Leonardo," the Toy People editorial team is here once again to unbox and play with the next release: "TMNT-03 Michelangelo"!
In the Mecha Ninja Turtle lore, TMNT-03 Michelangelo is piloted by the turtle himself and serves as the firepower specialist, responsible for destroying and demolishing enemy bases. In addition to being equipped with a vast array of heavy armaments like a dual Gatling gun, high-output cannons, and cruise missiles, the design allows all weapons to be mounted on its body, turning it into a mobile armory capable of delivering devastating firepower to opponents on the battlefield!
▼ Let's dive right in, starting with the packaging! The front features a massive close-up of TMNT-03 Michelangelo's upper body. The English name is presented with silver foil stamping, and the light-up effect in the eyes gives it an extremely powerful look!
▼ Turning to the back, we're hit with a flood of information, including a full accessory list, various action poses, and dense blocks of text at the bottom.
▼ The side features a print of the Mecha Ninja Turtle with lower saturation, which further emphasizes the silver foil-stamped product name.
▼ The top follows a similar style, but the colors of the Michelangelo figure itself have been removed, presenting it in a black and white tone.
▼ Now, let's open it up and see the contents! There are three neatly stacked layers of blister packs and an instruction manual enclosed in a beautiful envelope.
▼ Besides the plastic wrap, the main body is also secured with some soft foam padding for extra protection. Protection level UP!
▼ It's also clearly marked here: please do not rotate the machine gun barrels by hand. We'll activate it for you all to see later.
▼ Among the accessories, it's worth mentioning the miniature Michelangelo turtle figures in translucent green and iron black, as well as the body of the Turtle Van, which is one of its components. You'll have to collect the whole set to complete the mini Turtle Van. How evil clever of them!
▼ The manual is printed in full color and provides detailed information on everything from the mecha's introduction and accessory list to the Mecha Ninja Turtle's range of motion and instructions for assembling and disassembling various parts!
▼ Alright! Let's get a feel for the Mecha Ninja Turtle figure itself! Although I've played with Leonardo before, I was once again struck by the hefty, substantial feel when I took out Michelangelo this time. We measured it, and the main body alone weighs a staggering 799 grams! This feel is no joke.
▼ Many parts of the frame and armor are made of die-cast alloy, which not only provides a satisfying weight but also makes the joints supporting each part feel incredibly solid when moved.
▼ Next, let's look at the detailed sculpting on Michelangelo's torso. The precise armor paneling is accompanied by a vibrant and rich color scheme with sharp contrasts. With orange and green as the main theme, the chest, abdomen, and limbs are accented with sand and gray colors. The belt and back feature gold, silver, and a matte-textured dark brown. The unit number "03 TMNT" can also be seen in multiple places. Unlike Leonardo's "忍" (Ninja) character, Michelangelo is decorated with "MIKEY," graffiti-style "NYC," and more.
▼ The missile launchers on the shoulders and the concealed machine guns revealed by opening the chest armor are further proof of his role as the firepower specialist.
▼ The orange and green arms not only feature varying shades of color, but the golden armor on the elbows can also be removed, which we'll discuss later.
▼ The head incorporates dreadlock-style elements while retaining the Mecha Ninja Turtle's antenna details. The mouth can also be opened to add more expression.
▼ You can also attach the headphones and orange goggles, though I personally prefer the look with just the headphones.
▼ A look at the leg details. The display of intricate mechanisms and layered armor is superb!
▼ Even the soles of the feet are fully detailed.
Now let's check out the figure's articulation! We'll start with the turtle's... I mean, Michelangelo's head! Like the previous Leonardo release, it has a thick, extendable neck. The forward and upward range of motion is quite good, but side-to-side rotation is slightly hindered by the dreadlocks after the weapons are attached.
▼ The adjustable shoulder armor allows the shoulders to be raised almost 180° horizontally.
▼ The pull-out joints in the shoulders allow the pivot to extend significantly forward, further expanding the arms' range of motion. There's also a decent range backward, allowing for a chest-expanding pose.
▼ The elbow bend is limited by the arm's sculpt to just over 90°.
▼ It still retains the interlocking hydraulic pipe detail that moves when the arm is bent.
▼ All three fingers are individually articulated, and there's a slot in the palm to secure the nunchaku for better stability. It's great for changing hand gestures and gripping weapons.
▼ Next is the torso. The forward bend is surprisingly deep after opening the lower chest plate, but the side-to-side bend is quite limited.
▼ The sliding design of the thigh armor plates ensures they don't interfere or get scratched when raising the legs, which I personally love.
▼ In addition to the aforementioned movable thigh plates, the interlocking design of the main thigh armor and the linked joints at the knees provide an excellent range of motion and visual effect during play.
▼ A deep kneeling pose will cause the body to lean slightly to one side because the hip joints don't have a pull-out feature. However, the high flexibility of the hip joints themselves, which can rotate significantly, helps reduce the unnaturalness of the pose.
▼ Flexibility test! A full split!
▼ The articulation points in the ankles and feet provide excellent ground stability, and the two articulated toes offer even more dynamic posing options.
Now let's attach the turtle shell and take a look! Fans of this series will know that this shell, which looks like a thruster pack, hides a clever gimmick inside. But first, let's examine the surface details. Besides the "TMNT-03" unit number, there are playful paint applications like "I ♥ NY" and "NYPD," which perfectly match Michelangelo's character.
▼ Opening it up reveals a finely detailed mechanical inner structure. After lifting the large central plate of the shell, you can see a total of three "CAUTION" signs on the inside and outside. There must be something good in there!
▼ Twist it open to reveal the cockpit! So this is where our little Michelangelo turtle figure pilots this giant Mecha Ninja Turtle!
▼ In addition to the movable central plate, side plates, and lower shell, as well as the rotatable internal cockpit, the lower half of the turtle shell can also be bent slightly.
Having looked at the Michelangelo figure and its shell, it's time for the other main event: the "weapons"! Pictured below from left to right, top to bottom are: Shoulder-mounted Homing Missile Launchers ×2, Leg-mounted Missile Launchers ×2, Dual Gatling Gun, Giant Cruise Missiles ×2, High-Output Cannons ×2, and Nunchaku ×2.
▼ Let's mount the weapons on Michelangelo step by step. Becoming the firepower specialist starts with the shoulder-mounted homing missiles! The product includes the corresponding connector pieces, and installation is easy by following the manual.
▼ The flip-open covers are awesome! They create a great "firepower unleashed" visual effect.
▼ Next, we attach the two giant cruise missiles. You must first remove the die-cast part at the top of the shell and then use the metal bracket to mount them. The ability to use different ports to change the missile's position as if it's about to launch is a fantastic design!
▼ It looks even more imposing with the missile fins deployed!
▼ Now for the dual Gatling gun. You first need to install two connector pieces on the gun body and remove the arm armor to expose the 4mm ports for mounting.
▼ Before installing the leg-mounted missiles, you also need to remove the side armor on the lower legs.
▼ Slide the switch on top to display it in its firing state.
▼ Although this unit is designed as a long-range firepower character, when you mention Michelangelo, the nunchaku are an absolute must!
▼ When his hands are busy firing guns, the nunchaku can be securely holstered at his waist.
▼ The high-output cannons and giant cruise missiles are mounted on the shell in a similar way. So, we're taking advantage of the missiles' ability to be mounted on the arms by placing the high-output cannons on the back and repositioning the missiles.
▼ And with that, the fully-armed mobile armory is... COMPLETE! An insane level of ammunition freedom has been achieved! The sheer volume and richly layered visual effect are just awesome.
▼ The base uses the same design as Leonardo's. The silver part in the middle is the logo styled after a classic "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sewer manhole cover, while the rest is plain black plastic. The manhole cover can be opened to store some unused connector pieces. It also comes with one long and one short support arm and two connector pieces with different angles.
▼ This time, besides the cockpit-seated pose, the other miniature turtle figure is in a nunchaku-swinging action pose.
▼ Of course, mounting both the high-output cannons and the giant cruise missiles on the shell at the same time is totally OK!
▼ Full Burst!
▼ With the Gatling gun in hand, the lethality is instantly upgraded!
▼ Repent in hell! Eat a point-blank giant missile!!
▼ Out of ammo!? No problem, just grab the nunchaku and he's a powerful, lively turtle once again!
▼ This must be Donatello's custom "Turtle Shell Drone - Firepower Output Type"! (Got a bit too excited and started messing around.)
Finally, let's talk about Michelangelo's extra play features. Let's use the mechanical pizza accessory as a switch! First is the light-up eye feature, which was also present in Leonardo. You'll need to provide two LR621 button cell batteries to activate it! When lit, it adds the perfect finishing touch. Let's see how it looks with and without the goggles!
▼ Additionally, sensing it again while the lights are on activates a breathing light mode. So cool!
▼ Next up is another highly anticipated play feature: the rotating barrels of the dual Gatling gun! The manual states that you need to provide 3 LR1130 button cell batteries to activate it. However, I encountered a situation where the spring in the battery compartment wasn't long enough, requiring four batteries to work properly. I recommend that fellow toy collectors buy an extra one just in case.
▼ The sensor is located right here!
▼ You really can't help but keep activating it! It's so much fun~
And that's a wrap for our review of the "Mecha Ninja Turtle - TMNT-03 Michelangelo"! Even though this is the second time I've played with a product from this series, it still feels fresh, and I can appreciate the awesome design ingenuity. Besides the differences in the main body design and paint application compared to the previous Leonardo, the weapon composition is also quite different. As a firepower-focused character, not only can he be loaded with a full arsenal, but you can also use the common 4mm ports for a wide variety of combinations. It's truly a blast to play with.