Decool (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles Set [Toy Impressions]

Talk about a comeback. As a kid, I enjoyed watching the original TMNT, though the series itself, looking at it today from a non-nostalgic perspective, feels a bit dated. Must be the lingo Michelangelo used. I can't recall the last time I heard "cowabunga" used in everyday conversation.

But the basic concept is solid enough that producers thought it might still be a hit today, they just need to update the visuals and feel for today's generation. Boy were they right. Not only did the rebooted TMNT become a hit among kids (my nephews are all over that stuff), it's such a hit that Lego gave it their own stamp of approval and acquired the license to create sets based off of it.

And those sets are themselves popular enough that an enterprising Chinese company who specializes in Lego clones thought it profitable to release a set of minifigs on their own. Hence, this Decool set.

This is the first time Decool appears on this blog, but it certainly won't be the last. Had I not been remiss in updating this blog (stick with me, I'm trying to change, promise!), you would've seen this name many times over already. With good reason, too, since I personally think Decool (along with Sheng Yuan) are the top names when it comes to imitation Lego minifigs - at least among brands that make their way across to the Philippines.

As a short backstory, I actually bought these Decool minifigs before the Sheng Yuans and Tongs. These are the first minifigs (that are based on licensed likenesses) that entered the local market, and its commercial success here (I guess) paved the way for retailers to bring in more clone Lego, not only licensed minifig copies, but whole original sets from China. This is a good thing because the Lego concept is a good way to foster creativity that kids across all social classes should be able to play with it, even if just a clone set.

There have been numerous Lego clones in the PH market prior to this (I'll look at some of these down the line), but they were never as big until after Decool hit the market.

Anyway, you're not here to listen to long platitudes about Decool, right? You're here for the minifigs, and here's what you're getting with this set:

- Shredder
- Donatello
- Michelangelo
- Raphael
- Leonardo
- Splinter

Basic set of 6, and covers many of the regular characters. At the very least, it covers the turtles, themselves. It's by no means complete, but enough for kids to play, with a bad guy in the set.

Price is standard at this point. It goes for PhP 25 (~ USD 0.57) per when bought as a whole set, can go as high as PhP 50 (~USD 1.14) when bought piece by piece, and anything over that amount, I feel, is highway robbery.

Shredder

It's a pretty good-looking minifig. The details are pretty sharp with the paint job, and absent some visible marks (if you look closely) where you can tell the piece was separated from the mould frame, it's a mostly bang-up job as far as clones go.

I should note that the standard Decool inclusions with this series are the minifig, a small comic-slash-build-instructions, a pizza piece, a skateboard, and stickers to put on the skateboard and pizza, which without it is just a yellow circular piece.

I'm not sure why Shredder is given a pizza and skateboard, though, but hey, I'll take free additional accessories.

Donatello

I swear, the first time I saw that shell piece, that's when I knew that Decool meant serious business in making accurate clones, and that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as clone minifigs go. That's the one that got me all excited to see what else would be coming down the line. I figured, if this clone company was able to get this right, there'd be more to come, right?

Anyway, this minifig, again, is as good as clones go. I checked Brickipedia, though, and apparently Donatello's facial expression here isn't canon, Lego-wise. Whatevs, minifig still looks good.

Michelangelo

This guy comes with nunchucks, as expected, being Michelangelo's signature weapon. I'm not sure his facial expression is canon, too, but nevertheless, it fits right in with his happy character in the series. Don't make the mistake I did, though, in which I rubbed off some black spots on the sides of his mouth, thinking that those were errant paint splotches. Apparently they weren't. -_-

Also, apologies for not having a photo of the box. For the life of me, I didn't quite notice that I missed that, and now the box has probably been turned into recycled paper or something.

Raphael

Here's Raphael. This time around, his facial expression is canon, as per Brickipedia. There are missed spots on this minifig's paint job, but nothing too bothersome. The angry look fits Raphael to a tee, if I may add.

Leonardo

The leader of the pack, and probably the favorite for most kids. I personally preferred Donatello as a kid, though I can't remember exactly why. Probably because I don't see myself as that much of a leader (probably the same reason why I preferred Flint over Duke in G.I. Joe).

Anyway, you'd be happy to know that his expression is also canon (if that's a thing for you), and like Raphael, save for some missed minor spots in the paint job that doesn't ruin the whole thing in my book, this is an excellent piece to have. Considering the cost, it's unreasonably demanding to ask for perfection.

(Master) Splinter

Finally, we come to the turtles' mentor. Once again, this isn't perfection, but it's pretty good enough. I like that Decool gave him a stick and katana, just to show that he can kick ass with whatever weapon you give him. As with Shredder, though, he's not the sort of guy who rolls on a skateboard, but free stuff is good.

All in all, a solid offering from Decool, the first of many they'd bring to market. Now if only TV producers can reboot another of my favorites from years back...