- Wednesday, October 18, 2017 9:55 AM
- DisneyDan
Hello everyone,
In this next part of my ongoing TMNT Mega Bloks/Construx review series, I am going to take a look at the original line from Mega Bloks that featured the 2003 TMNT.
It should be noted that when I say "original line" I really mean that they were the first TMNT construction toys produced by Mega Bloks during the TMNT 2003 series' run, predating anything we have now by many years (by default they predate the first LEGO TMNT line, too). The reason for me wanting the review them here is for the sake of completeness, comparison purposes against the current range, and honestly just because it's fun!
To the best of my knowledge and the extent of my research, there were seven sets in total. I own four of them. The three that I am missing are: Mutation Garage (1406), Space Lab (1407), and the "tub set" for which I can find no other info about, sadly.
Let's start with the Radical Ramp, which is set number 1402, and contains 135 pieces, including three minifigures.
The front and the back of the box:
Given the age of these sets, as you can imagine, they aren't in the best condition, so we'll skip my usual "contents of the box" stage and go right to the completed set:
Close-up of the minifigures:
If you have read my previous reviews of the current TMNT range, you'll understand my frustration with them having these random sets that do not pertain to anything from the series. Well, it seems that even over a decade ago, this was still an issue! I am not complaining about having these figures really, and it's cool to have some construction toys from the 2003 series since we're likely never to get anything ever again, but really, what is a "Radical Ramp"?
You'll notice that in this set - and in the ones to come below - there is an ooze canister. Yes, that is ooze still in there; it somehow withstood the test of time, though I wouldn't want to put my fingers in it...
The next set is the 1/4 Pipe Fight, which is set number 1401, and contains 145 pieces, including three minifigures.
The front and the back of the box:
The completed set:
Minifigure close-up:
I actually love that this set contains Casey Jones! I also really like how in this old range they weren't afraid to give us three minifigures in a small set, including a turtle and another hero/ally. Aside from the fact this set has a skateboard instead of a car, I feel that it's the good old tried and tested formula of generic locations that I mentioned above. Not a bad set, but very generic.
The next set is Battle Shell Bridge, which is set number 1411, and contains 290 pieces, including four minifigures.
The front and the back of the box:
The completed set:
Close-up of the minifigures:
Now this is what I was talking about above - something that matters to the series! The Battle Shell is the TMNTs' vehicle in the series, and it's pretty awesome to have it in this form. I will say that despite my gripes with the quality of the current range (Mega Bloks - or Mega Construx as they are now - have never been known for their high standards), these sets really make me appreciate how far the technology to develop these kinds of sets has come. The Battle Shell here is fairly clunky and cumbersome, with barely any space inside for the turtles, and absolutely no details. I like that this set has four minifigures with it.
The final set is the Combat Lair, which is set number 1421, and contains 320 pieces, including seven (seven!) minifigures.
The front and the back of the box:
The completed set:
The minifigures up close:
I guess back in the day, "combat lair" sounded way cooler than a regular lair? Nonetheless, it's a lair. It has Donnie's work area, a sofa, a small vehicle, and of course a training area. I really like this set - I really like that is has all four turtles and their arch nemesis, the Shredder, in it. It's fun to have three levels, too. The lair has two levels, and then there is the street - complete with a giant ooze canister than flows down into the lair, no less.
Over all this is a really fun range, and I would love to get my hands on the missing three sets someday. I like that in these few sets though it was possible to get all four turtles, a number of Foot Soldiers, Shredder, and Casey Jones. To my knowledge, apart from the Foot Elite that appear in two of the sets I don't own, there were no other characters produced, which is a shame. At least in the current range we have a really good selection of characters, even if the distribution is atrocious (that's another story!).
Have a great day everyone,
Dan.