Zach and Smash (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Zach and Smash (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon) Review

Zach and Smash
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca)NECA giving us not one, but two guys pretending to be Ninja Turtles? I'm pretty sure they're trying to tell us something…

Zach was one of those characters that were created specifically for the original cartoon, and he also represented what kids wanted to be: a turtle. I've been wanting the "fifth turtle" in the line for a while now, and now my wish has been realized. Paul Harding provided the sculpt for him, and he looks dead-on to the show. I imagine it wasn't easy to get that hairstyle right in three dimensions. Two different head sculpts are included for him: one with the mask and headband, and one without. The paint is very clean, with no bleed at all, though there is one issue that I want to go over. Zach stands around 5" tall, making him a pretty big kid.

There's plenty of articulation for Zach, though he does have a couple issues. There's a ball-jointed head/neck combo that works great, and he also has swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows (double type), wrists, and ankles, ball-jointed waist, ball-socket hips, swivel thighs, and double-hinged knees. While the heads are meant to swap out, I found that the joint likes to come out of the neck instead of the head, which adds a bit of difficulty to the swap, though I found that the joint can easily be pulled out of the head with some tweezers. The knees are the biggest problem, as the lower joints were stuck tight when I first got him, but second time I busted him out, I was able to break them free. They painted the ankle joints red, but the plastic underneath is white, which makes them look unsightly. That all said, you can manage some nice poses with him, especially with those double-jointed elbows.

Zach has plenty of accessories, allowing for multiple display options. Aside from the extra head, he gets seven different hands: a pair of fists, a pair of open hands, a pair of gripping hands, and a slightly different right grip. The backpack can fit onto him easily, and the garbage can lid "shell" is a nice inclusion. A small piece in the backpack can pop out so you can plug it in, allowing for a more proper fit. He also includes a hockey stick, googles, a shard of glass, a diamond, open and closed turtle coms, with a cord so you can plug them into the backpack, and a jumper cable. The Chrome Dome head is a really cool inclusion, thanks to the opening forehead and the ability to use it on the previously released figure.

Included with Zach is another fake turtle, except this one's not a good guy. Smash, the karate teacher turned criminal, only appeared in one episode, but he's still a memorable character. Kushwara Studios is credited as the sculptor, and they went with his "Crooked Ninja Turtle" look. Like Zach, he has two heads: a disgruntled look with the mask, and a yelling head without it. I feel that the heads could look a little better, as the hair spikes up too much in the middle, and the cheeks could be raised a bit. The shirt looks nice, and the faux shell is sculpted to stand out a bit, which adds a bit to him. He too, has a very nice paint application, with no noticeable issues. His articulation is similar to Zach, but with single-jointed elbows and a ball-jointed chest instead of a waist.

Smash gets a couple accessories, but not as much as Zach. Along with the unmasked head, he has closed and karate chopping hands to go with his gripping hands, giving him some good opportunities for fighting poses. He has a few odd weapons, including an axe, a pickax, a knife, and a bent dagger. They fit in his hands pretty well, and if you got the Crooked Turtle member figure, they can go with them pretty well. A grappling hook is also included, but I'm not sure if it's meant to go with him or Zach. Both of them can hold it pretty well, so that's good.

Once NECA revealed that they would be doing the Crooked Ninja Turtle gang member, I knew Smash wouldn't be too far behind, and I'm happy to see him. Though Zach was the one I was waiting to get the most, and he looks great, though the joint issues lowered my enthusiasm for him a bit. Still, it's great to get both of these guys, and Zach is one step closed to completing a "Night of the Rouges" display. Now when are we getting Tempestra?

- 10/6/22