Mighty Hog and Rhino-Man (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Mighty Hog and Rhino-Man (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon) Review

Mighty Hog and Rhino-Man
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca)Last year's Haul-a-thon gave us a Bebop and Rocksteady two-pack, more specifically their robotic counterparts. Because of that, it makes sense that the real deals would show up during the event this year, albeit with a twist.

The original Bebop and Rocksteady figures were sculpted by Trevor Zammit, but here, the heads of them weren't reused. Instead, they got Paul Harding to sculpt some all-new heads. On the plus side, these heads are more accurate to the show than the regular versions were, with Bebop having sculpted fur on his cheeks, and Rocksteady as a whole looking far better, with smaller ears and nostrils. The jaws are still hinged, but with these guys, they look off. Okay, Bebop is fine, but Rocksteady's is weird. Open up his mouth and you'll see what I mean.

Now is when I mention the twist. These two are wearing their superhero outfits from the episode "Rhino-Man," with Rocksteady having that title while Bebop went by "Mighty Hog." The costumes are pretty much stereotypical hero flare, with emblems on their shirts and speedos over their paints. Bebop switched out his glasses for an eye mask, but he still has some of his usual accessories, such as his shoulder pads, wrist chain, and sneakers larger than before. Both get soft goods capes as well, with Bebop's being tied around his neck while Rocksteady's isn't, just being draped around. I have to complain about Bebop's wrist chain, as it's not attached to his forearm, meaning it tends to fall off a lot. And looking back at the source episode, Rhino-Man's belt is missing on the figure. Yeesh.

The paint is where these figures shine, and it's some of the best work I've seen on this line. The colors are nice bold, with the color of the skin and other areas being bolder than the dusty colors of the original figures. The lines are clean for the most part as well, with few uneven edges. NECA is still intent on painting the joints, however, meaning it tends to lock up joint and chip off them. In addition, the paint on Rocksteady's crotch rubs off onto his legs, and said issue is mostly unnoticeable on Bebop. Rhino-Man stands around 6" tall, while his sidekick is 6 1/2". They're actually half an inch smaller than before, though we all know how inconsistent the character heights could get in the show.

The dimwitted super "hero" duo have similar articulation to their everyday counterparts. In addition to hinged jaws, both get ball-jointed heads and chests, swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, and ankles, swivel biceps and thighs, double-hinged elbows and knees, and ball-socket hips. Stuck-tight joints are still an issue here, and not just on the wrists, but the elbows, knees, ankles, and even the heads. Both required a hot water bath to get everything moving, and with Bebop's head, I had to pop the joint out of the neck and back in to make it move better. He also has restricted motion at the chest, compared to how well it moves on Rocksteady. While the level of articulation is great, having to heat up everything to let the figures move is something we shouldn't have to do.

There isn't a ton of accessories, but Rhino-Man and Mighty Hog make due with what they have. Both get six hands each, sharing sculpts between the two, with 2x fists, 2x gripping hands, a flat palm right, and a V-sign left. Rhino-Man gets some goggles to wear, and both have jetpacks that plug into their backs. As a result, there's big squares on their backs, though the capes cover them up. Also included are a TV screen/walkie-talkie device, and the Anxietron Ray. The Anxietron actually comes from a different episode, "Bebop and Rocksteady Conquer the Universe," and while I love it, it would have been nice to get a few more extras based off the episode where these outfits come from.

Overall, Rhino-Nose and Warthog Boy… er, Rhino-Man and Mighty Hog are nice variants on characters already in the line, but there are more issues present with them than just being hard to find in-store (at least for me). Bebop and Rocksteady have worn a lot of different costumes in the show, and the more we can get, the better.

- 3/23/23