#0407: Shredder

SHREDDER

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MINIMATES

Every popular fictitious character has to have their arch-enemy. Batman’s got Joker; Superman’s got Lex Luthor; Indiana Jones has Nazis (he hates these guys). And the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have Shredder! Shredder is an important part of the TMNT mythos, and with how much of a cash-cow the franchise has been, it should be no surprise that he’s had his fair share of action figures over the years. Now he has a Minimate. And there was much rejoicing! (Yay…)

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shredder is part of the first series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates. He’s one of the figures what will be in all of the Series 1 assortments, but this particular figure comes from the K-Mart assortment, meaning he’s blind bagged and he includes an extra piece. Other than that, he’s the same for every release. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation. He’s based on the character’s appearance in the new TV show, which may very well be the most imposing Shredder yet. Shredder uses the basic Minimate body as a starting point, with non-standard pieces for the hands and lower legs, as well as add-ons for the helmet and cape. All of the pieces are unique to Shredder, and they all do a pretty great job of translating the design into Minimate form. The cape seems a little flat at first, but it actually works, given the source material. Like so many of the other figures in this series, the paint is a mix of very good and very bad. The detail work, especially on face under the mask, is really fantastic. The scarring is superbly done. They’ve even added little touches, such as the small symbol on his belt, which really help make the figure pop. Unfortunately, a lot of the base color work, especially on the top of his “opera gloves,” is incredibly sloppy. Levels of slop I haven’t seen before. Shredder includes a clear display stand and a keychain attachment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Shredder was part of the assortment of blind bag figures I grabbed from K-Mart. Shredder is the first one I opened, so there’s that. I really like the figure, but I do wish the paint was cleaner. The poor paint is really holding this line back!