2k12 Shredder Review

I do appologize for the picture quality. I do not have a camera right now and am taking pictures with my old cell phone.

You cannot say Ninja Turtles without someone bringing up Shredder. Even though the Foot themselves are more of the foe in the comic, Oroku Saki has been tied to the Turtles origin. It could be argued though that what made the character famous though was the original cartoon. And that is a very valid argument as it launched the brand into the public eye. However, that cartoon made the Shredder more ofa bumbling villain then the true monster he is.

Well if the figure that Nick released for their 2k12 version of the show is any indication it looks like we may be getting a very different take on Shredder. Because when I held this package and saw the look of the figure was intimidating.  This would have to be my favorite Shredder figure to date.

Sculpt

The sculpt of this figure is imposing; there really is no other way to describe it. He looks like a leader, he looks like a bad ass, and he looks like Shredder.   Another thing about this sculpt is it is very keen on the added spikes.

The shoulder spikes and helmet look great, the wrist and calf not so much. I mean they don’t take a lot away and do look pretty awesome, it is just that they are quite bulky. I would have liked them to work them into the figure better or made them removable.

Paint App

The figure has three colors and that is it. Purple for his clothes, a grey for his armor, and a peach for his skin. Yet that makes it great. It is simplistic which makes this Shredder stand out. It doesn’t go crazy with paint apps or color variations. It is nice to have a basic figure with basic paint that is as imposing as this.

The grey of his armor has a slight glean to it. It isn’t a metallic grey but neither is it a flat grey. The molded plastic is very close in color and maybe only a slight tint lighter. It accents the purple making it look much richer and fuller.

However there is one flaw with the paint app. I would have liked to see the straps that hold his chest piece painted a dark brown instead of the same purple as the res of the figure. I think it really would have added to the figure.

Articulation

Unfortunately this really is where this figure falls flat. It seems that if it isn’t a Turtle it doesn’t need to be able to move. At least that seems to be Playmates thinking on this first version of Shredder. He has very limited moving. Head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist and hips.

The head is strictly a rotate 360 degree joint. It can’t go up, down, or tilt. He is always looking straight on. This is disappointing because there are some cool posses that would look great with the head tilted.

His arms by far have the most articulation. His shoulder rotate completely around and move up and down. It is the same for his elbows too. Being able to move the lower arm around as much gives some awesome posses. His wrist rotate in a complete circle so it makes holding his weapons kind of cool. A cool feature is the fact that his shoulder pads move so they don’t impede arm movement is great.

His waist is a 360 movement also. Now this would be awesome if his legs could move but alas they only move at the hip. They only go forward, back, and side to side. So Shredder is always standing up straight. No cool crouched positions for this figure.

Accessories

Shredder comes with one sword and two throwing stars. It isn’t much but then this figure doesn’t need much. He looks great without holding a weapon and then holding the sword he looks great too. The throwing stars are a little awkward for him to hold. Like the other figures his accessories are not painted either and match the color of his armor.

Final Thoughts

For me even though it has some flaws this is my favorite Shredder to date. It is a really amazing figure. I’d like to see a little more paint on this guy but displayed on the shelf he looks great fighting the Turtles.  If you were going to get two figures from this line I would suggest getting your favorite Turtle, cause they are all great figures, and Shredder.

If they do release another Shredder for this line my one hope is that he be a little taller. That seems to be the downfall of this line so far. The Turtles themselves are quite tall and the characters that are supposed to be taller them are about the same size. I’d say the durability of this figure is quite good too it seems very solid. It has some heft to it, which I really like.

So pick this up. It is a must buy from this line. Oh and also his eye is not messed up like the photo of the character. It’s a small detail but it doesn’t detract from the figure.