Hi all! Just a minor post today. Couple of simple mods to some otherwise excellent figures. Let's take a look at NECA's Rocksteady and Bebop!

So Playmates already did an awesome set of figures that were roughly in scale with the NECA '87 cartoon TMNT figures. Of course, as most TMNT collectors know, they weren't very cartoon accurate, with odd colors, limited articulation, and sculpts that - while very detailed and high quality - looked more like real world interpretations of the characters rather than the actual animation models themselves. A number of customizers (myself included) made various mods to these figures to bring them more in line with the cartoon versions. You can check out my previous effort on my figure list. And while they weren't perfect, they were at least a viable placeholder until something better came along.

Well, something better has arrived: NECA's much sought after (and nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find) Rocksteady and Bebop 2-pack is now available (no, really, it's out there, trust me!), and I have to say, when I finally got mine, I was . . . of mixed feelings. Don't get me wrong, the sculpts and paint and articulation were spectacular, easily superior to the Playmates versions. The accessories, however . . . reused guns from the Foot Soldiers. Nothing else. No iconic or cartoon-accurate weapons, no helmet for Rocksteady, no accessories that reference the original figures, even Rocksteady's combat knife is MOLDED INTO its sheath! The Playmates offerings were MUCH better, with personalized guns (based on the old figures), and a knife and helmet for Rocksteady. Way to drop the ball here, NECA! Naturally, I decided to correct these oversights.

MOST of the changes here are for Rocksteady. I started with the knife. It was a simple matter to cut off the handle, hollow out the sheath, and fix an existing blade to the handle. The guns were similarly easy. I referenced the first season of TMNT, and found that Rocksteady's rifle only had minor differences compared to the one that came with the figure, belt fed instead of magazine, with a solid stock instead of a hollow pipe stock. Bebop's gun was completely different, a small blaster with a magazine and a front shield. I initially thought I was going to have to sculpt it myself, but by an awesome coincidence, Playmates' old Triceraton figure came with just such a gun, and it was even in scale to the new NECA figures! All it needed was a full paint job. Rocksteady also originally wore brown and black camo pants, which was a five minute paint job. And of course, the sewer cover and trash can lid were simple parts to find.

The difficult aspect of this project was Rocksteady's helmet. While he only wore it in the first two or three seasons, I always felt it was an integral part of his character design (especially as it's appeared on every figure ever produced of the character), but it also had to be removable to represent that the character often did not wear it. I also wanted it to be screen accurate, so it couldn't be like the Playmates version, which had grooves cut into the sides to accommodate his ears. In the cartoon, the ears stick out of the helmet through holes, not grooves. This posed a dilemma, as his ears were solid pieces molded as part of his head.

Solution: poseable ears! *LOL* Yes, I am that nuts, I added tiny ball joints (the elbow joints from a Mega Construx Rocksteady, coincidentally) into his ears, so they could bend and twist, or even be removed and replaced, so I could put his solid epoxy putty-sculpted helmet on his head at will. Not only does it allow for the helmet, but it makes Rocksteady way more expressive!

I know they're simple, silly little changes, but personally, I think they make all the difference, and I couldn't be happier with my two massive, moronic mutants!

TURTLE POWER!!