When the new wave of TMNT figures started showing up online I spent way too much time driving around to find them. Slash was definitely the one out of the new four (Slash, Newtralizer, Dojo Splinter & Rahzar) that I was trying to get, but I've done each character in the line thus far so finding any of them would suffice. 

I found Dojo Splinter at a Toys R Us first, then Slash and Rahzar at a Target and finally Newtralizer at another Toys R Us.  All within the span of three days. I did actually call a Toys R Us to see if they had any of these figures. Sorta went analog on this one.

Maybe it was the fact that I found him last, but Newtralizer quickly became my favorite out of the four figures in the new wave. I should probably admit that I've only seen a few episodes of the show as of this review, so I wasn't familiar with Newtralizer nor did I know if he has even shown up in an episode yet. However, the bio on the back of the card did a good job at explaining his character and really made him stand out as a figure. The fact that he was imprisoned by the Kraang and is now a bounty hunter that collects their tentacles as trophies is pretty rad/gross. 

The hunter/collector aspect of the character design is a great nod to the Predator franchise as well as his frisbee-saw type weapon that he sports. On top of that, the reptile pattern on his chest forms a really cool (and more than coincidental) skull design. 

With the release of this figure there has been a slight variation where the knife sheath on his leg, the knife and the frisbee weapon were released in black. Right now it's not apparent which, if either, is the rarer of the two. As you can tell from the photos I have the gray version, but I picked up the black version just the other day for a friend that was also looking for the new figures. On a related note, Slash also has a slight paint variation, where either three horns on his chest/shell are painted yellow, or three of the horns on his skin/neck are. Though they knocked this figure out of the park, there's a couple items that were left un-painted that seem weird when you notice them. There's a blade affixed to his tail as well as a belt of pockets along his left ankle. If I actually get around to painting those tentacles pink, I should probably take care of those as well. 

But for now, I have a hard time putting this figure down. He looks great in any pose and threatening in most of them. I can't recommend this figure enough. Pick him up if you see him, you won't be disappointed. And though the normal hollowing-out of certain parts of the figure is a little more apparent on the underneath of his tail, I still gotta say I appreciate anything that helps Playmates keep the costs down and the MSRP at or below $8.99. 

We are watching Scandal right now, so let's see how hard it will be to get Liz to chime in here. 

Liz: OMG THIS CARD IS FAKE. DAVID ROSEN PLAYED THEM! Gah I looked down for a second and now I don't know what's happening. I'll come back to this when someone starts making out with someone else.

Even though Spiral Zone has always been one of my favorite cartoon properties from the 80s, I've never owned a figure other than a few pieces that were incomplete that ended up on eBay. However, we recently picked up a set of figures that included a complete Duchess Dire figure that I was super excited to add to our personal collection. 

The Spiral Zone figures are approximately 6" tall and have loads of articulation. They also broke the barrier for figures with real cloth accessories where that was traditionally reserved for 8" and 12" figures. While the figures have a painted base of underclothes, their gear and uniform are cloth and plastic. 

Duchess Dire was the token female for the bad guys known as the Black Widows. Odd that the Black WIDOWS didn't have more female characters, but at least she led them. Oh wait...no she didn't. That would probably be too much for her. Instead, she was the Assignment Expert which basically means she stayed back at base and told everyone the details of all the fun stuff they got to go do/break. Buuuut I'm getting too preachy with my outlook on feminism in vintage toy lines. I'll stop there. 

All of the members of the Black Widows were infected and, you know what, here's an article on Wikipedia if you don't know what that is. I'd pretty much be retyping stuff from there. 

So back to the figure. Duchess came with a helmet that has an antenna on one side, a piece of chest armor, boots (one of which had a holster on it), a laser rifle, backpack that contained a net and a grappling hook and rope. The amount of accessories and attention to how they fit on the figures in this line was very impressive. Just the holster on the boot alone is something that most figure designs still to this day haven't seen. It was a good use of space on the figure and worth a mention. 

I also really like the nickname quoted on her gear as it gives some story to them all gearing up to go cause havoc and grabbing the right stuff in their lockers. I only assume that this was a result of people grabbing the wrong items when heading out and getting pissed about it on the field. 

If you get a chance to pick up any Spiral Zone figures, they're definitely worth the price if they're complete. I know I'll be hunting for more, or at least for parts to complete the two figures we have for sale in the store right now (pictured below in a weak battle against Duchess). 

Random facts about Spiral Zone; 

• Sam and Crank watched every episode of the show on lunchbreaks a few years back when they both worked at Devil's Due. 
• Sam went as an "infected" member of the Black Widows for halloween probably back in 87 or '88. His sister put hairspray on one side of his head and used lipstick to add all the red infected parts on his face and arms. (I'm searching for a picture of this. Also, no one knew who I was.)
• Spiral Zone has one of the best theme songs from the 80s and most of you folks are only going to hear it for the first time right now (video below). ♪♫ "Darkness, has fallen, on the victims, of the Zone."♫ ♪

Liz's facts about Duchess Dire/Spiral Zone;

• Sam made me watch the theme song to this show the other day and then looked at me like I was supposed to say something.