Raphael 2k12 Review

Raphael has always been my favorite Turtle, so when I set out this morning I planed on only picking up two figures him and Splinter. I ended up with almost the whole set. But that is neither here nor there, this post is going to be about the 2k12 Raphael figure.

My first impression of this figure as I held him in my hands was he looks like Rapael. He is stocker then the other turtles, he looks angry, and the scars/damage to him makes since. I couldn’t wait to get him home and unbox him.

Sculpt

The sculpt it self is pretty nice. This is the first time I can remember the turtles actually having different body molds. It is great that they are carrying that over from the show to the figures. He is the third tallest turtle but also the most broad. His figure shows that. Also he doesn’t back down from fights and there are scar marks all over the figure. Heck even his plastron has a chunk out of it.  They went out of their way when sculpting this figure to get across that he is a rough and tumble turtle.

Like the turtles of the 80s these figures come with a face sculpt of them baring their teeth. If I had to try to put words to his facial expression it would be smiling while grimacing. It fits the figure nicely though, gives it that look like he is ready to stab someone.

Paint Apps

The paint apps on the figure are pretty basic. Then again they don’t have to be anything fancy. Raphael’s skin is a darker green color. He is the only Turtle that has this skin tone as they have made each turtles skin slightly different colors. Along with his skin being a darker green his plastron is a darker yellow and his shell almost a brownish green. These colors work together to form the darker pallet they went with for this figure. And honestly it looks great.

His mask isn’t primary red, it is darker then that. It isn’t quite crimson either though. It is a nice color in between. Like the Turtles of IDW, the Nick toon Turtles have wraps. The wraps on his wrists and ankles, along with his pads on elbow and knee, are a rich dark brown.

The only thing that isn’t painted on this figure really are the weapons. Instead of painting the accessories that come with each Turtle, Playmates decided to use different color plastic. Raph’s accessories are a steel grey color. While it would have been nice to have some detail paint on these it isn’t a big distraction for me.

Articulation

These figures have a fair amount that I was surprised with. There is a total of ten points of articulation on this figure.

The shoulders have a ball joint that lets them move completely around as well as a hinge that lets them move up and down giving the figure a wide range of posses with the arms. The elbows also have a hinge and the wrists rotate. This makes posing the figure a lot of fun as you are not stuck with the pose they put him in.

His head is on a ball joint so it goes up and down and completely around. Again this lends to some interesting posing options.

His legs appear to be on a swivel joint at the waist so the move forward and back mostly. Yet with a little moving about you can move them side-to-side. It takes a bit but it is possible. His knees are on a hinge and move forward and back.

Overall good articulation for a Turtle figure.

Final Thoughts

After getting this figure out of the package I almost gave up opening the rest. I was having way to much fun playing with him. He is probably one of my favorite Raphael figures, second to the NECA. The detail that when into the texture of the skin and scaring, the attention that was paid to the stitching on his wraps, and the fact that the figure has a little heft to it when you pick it up makes this a solid figure.

If you have been sitting on the fence about the style of the new toon I think this figure could change your mind. If you are a hard core fan of TMNT pick this up, if you are a casual fan pick this up, or even if you are thinking about getting into this line this is a great figure to start with.