The Ninja Turtles were a real phenomenon, and they still are. Beside the action figures, there were several series of plastic figures, like those made by Yolanda, the small chewing gum premiums or this series made in Germany by Bully.
There are two interesting facts about them. First they depict rather slim characters, compared to the more muscled ones we were familiar with. Long legs, long arms, thin shells make them look like something between Eastman and Laird´s and the cartoon turtles.
The second interesting fact is that some characters have magnets in their backs (all except the four main characters), maybe they were intended to be put in the fridge.
The series is complete except for four turtle figures coming out of a manhole cover. These are represented only from the waist up, and are so different to the ones I present today, that could actually be considered as a different series. I do not own any of these, they probably sold much worse than these.
Something remarkable is that the characters also include Splinter, Shredder, Bebop, and a Foot Soldier, which is something unique to all plastic PVC series of TMNT. To my knowledge, this is the most complete regarding the number of characters, despite missing Rocksteady.
FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: LEONARDO, RAPHAEL, DONATELLO, MICHELANGELO, SPLINTER, SHREDDER, BEBOP and FOOT SOLDIER
- Year: 1989
- Company: Bully (Germany)
- Size of the figures: Around 7 cm
Funny I have 2 of the main characters from this line, Michelangelo and Leonardo. My Leo has a magnet on the back of his shell but Mikey don't.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for the comment! It is interesting, because I thought it was only the non-turtle figures that came with the magnet, so thanks for clarifying.
DeleteI have the third one (Donatello I think) as a key ring holder
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for the comment. Did not know that there were keyrings with these figures. BR, Juan
Deletehi! Greetings from Ecuador, when i was a child the 4 turtles came in the kfc kids meal, four years ago i completed the collection....but now i know that there are actually 8 figures....that's sad jajaja
ReplyDeleteHola Andrés, qué bueno ese dato, no sabía que Bully hacia hecho promociones para KFC. Igual en ese momento solo se regalaban 4 figuras (las cuatro tortugas, entiendo) y puedes considerar tu colección como completa. Puede que Bully hiciera muy pocos de los otros y no quedará nada para KFC, puede que KFC no quisiera ningún personaje secundario, puede que solo estuvieran buscando 4 figuras... Las promos de restaurantes suelen ir por semanas: 4 semanas, 4 regalos es la norma. Sí hay una licencia potente, a lo mejor hacen 5 o 6 semanas... Un saludo y muchas gracias por escribir. Juan
DeleteI´ve got Raphael with a Magnet behind, and the Mirage Print is on the Back of the leg. Found this site looking for more of this magnets.
ReplyDeleteOk, so it is confirmed that all models were available with our without magnets. I don't know yet which are rarer or if they were sold in the same way. Thanks a lot for the comment!
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