Bittersweet memory lane. The TMNT figures I used to own

[Egon Spengler]

When I was a kid my parents bought me a lot of the TMNT line fro the 80's into the 90s. I loved those figures. Loved them. I just went through and made a list of figures and vehicles I used to own. I knew I had a lot of them but I didn't remember having as my as I did but going down the list in the tmnttoys.com site I went down a trip on memory lane.

I owned


1988 releases

Leonardo
Shredder
Donatello
Foot Soldier
Raphael
Bebop
Michaelangelo
Rocksteady

Splinter


Party Wagon
Turtle Blimp
Footski
==========================

1989

Ace Duck
Krang
Genghis Frog
Baxter Stockman
Leatherhead
Metalhead
Usagi Yojimbo
General Traag

==========================
1990

Ray Fillet
Slash
Mutagen Man
Mondo Gecko
Fugitoid
April O'Neil

========================
1991
Tattoo
Chrome Dome
Krang's Android Body

========================
1992
April, the Ravishing Reporter
Movie Star Raph

Now a lot of these figures got stolen from my front porch when I was a kid, but not all of them. I made the mistake of forgetting them outside on the porch in a cardboard box when the family went on a trip to visit my dads friend from work. Sadly when we came back the box was gone. I then had the fun experience of having parts of the toys thrown at me through out the next days when I was roaming the neighborhood. The kids in the area were real punks and it wasn't enough for them to take the toys but they had to destroy them and toss them my way too. It really makes you wonder what kind of people would do that. It also makes me wonder where they are today and if they turned into crazier people, not just childhood bullies. I don't wish any harm on them and I hope they grew up into more stable individuals with good homes for their families and good experiences for their kids. My parents thankfully bought me a bunch of the figures again after the theft but I never got the collection up to what it was before again. I still have a lot of the ones on the list above, but they are loose and not in the packaging. I didn't care about "collecting" then. I just enjoyed playing with the toys and had a great time doing it.

One thing that always bugged me was the Shredder figure from the original release. Why the heck did he not have a shirt? lol

 

[Moviefreak]

This is why we collect as adults. I don’t see a more fitting story for going on a collecting quest here, lol. You need to rebuild that collection now and display them.

 

[Onkelpsycho]

Shredder. Worst Turtles figure ever...

I was very disappointed to see how the ultimate villain looks as a figure... Later he was sold on a budget in supermarkets when the big turtle hype was already over...

Loved this stuff and everytime I think of my Turtle figures, I also remember the early 90s with a warm nostalgic feeling. I don't have to own all the stuff again, I owned when I was a kid.

But I'm thankful for companies like NECA, who bring all these great characters back, matching my claims I have as an adult collector...

 

[thegnome]

Nice collection, do you have any old photos?

 

[Egon Spengler]

Nice collection, do you have any old photos?

Nah. No photos. That was back in the days before digital camera so we didnt really really take photos except for special occasions

 

[thegnome]

Ok thanks, amazing collection anyhow!

 

[Tremas]

My collection wasn't TMNT, but rather Major Matt Mason, with a couple of large G.I. Joes thrown into the mix.

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

I once dumpster dived in the mid 2000´s when I had seen that a neighbours kid had tossed a garbage bag full of turtles and ghostbusters stuff into the dumpster. Luckily the dumpster was quite clean since it was only for plastics and packaging I do wonder where that garbage bag full of loot is now. Damn memory...

 

[Egon Spengler]

I once dumpster dived in the mid 2000´s when I had seen that a neighbours kid had tossed a garbage bag full of turtles and ghostbusters stuff into the dumpster. Luckily the dumpster was quite clean since it was only for plastics and packaging I do wonder where that garbage bag full of loot is now. Damn memory...

Aw man! What a find!!

 

[Solos blaster]

Great memories. I don't know what it was but I didn't really get a lot of villain toys when I was a kid. Maybe my parents were opposed to it or what not, I'll never know. MOTU, Transformers, GI Joe, TMNT, my heroes always seemed to outnumber my baddies. Case in point, since you bring up TMNT collection memories, I only had Rocksteady to fight all 4 turtles lol....but I also didn't have many other figures than that. I had the transforming Raph(from turtle to TMNT) figure but I don't think I had any others.