It never ceases to amaze me that two young men: Eastman and
laird, who created a simple tribute to comic book artist Frank Millers work on
Ronin for DC Comics, would spawn and entire industry.
Back in the 1980s Eastman and Laird produced a small-run,
black and white comic book starring four martial arts turtles drawn in a style
emulating Frank Miller’s pencils and inks on Ronin.
The story goes that a toy executive from Playmates Toys
happened into a comic book shop and spotted the first issue on the stands. Inspiration struck and after contacting
Eastman and Laird it was decided to launch a new animated TV series promoting a
new line of action figures: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
30 years later the Turtles are still around and kids still
love them. Part of the reason is that
they constantly reinvent themselves, primarily through new toy releases and
animated series and movies.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the mainstay of
Playmates Toys and it appears there is no end in sight from the toy line or the
series.
Recently Playmates released a new line of TMNT toys called:
Mutations.
One of (several) Mutations variations includes the various
turtles turning into their trademark weapons.
In the case of Leonardo, the sword-wielding amphibian
literally turns into a pair of swords.
Pretty amazing!
A few clicks, turns and detachments and Leonardo splits down
the middle and transforms into two kid-size, eight-inch swords. Just as quickly he can transforms back into
his turtle form that also includes two downscaled swords he can hold.
Like all of the TMNT action figures consumers can expect
high quality sculpting, color and paint application and above all-child safety.
The half-lid, flip-open container shows Leonardo off at his
finest while a flip-open, left-side panel reveals to kids a simple to
understand photographic sequence Leonardo’s transformation.