The Last Ronin Figures are coming from NECA and Playmates Toys.
This weekend is what would have been the annual Toy Fair in New York. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, a physical presence has been delayed once again. Luckily, that did not stop the numerous makers of joy from unveiling their plans for the upcoming year! While there was an incredible amount of products revealed, the most important reveal, to me personally, was The Last Ronin figures from National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) and Previews Exclusive Figures from Playmates Toys.
For those that don’t know, The Last Ronin is an original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) story from the original creators of the Turtles, Peter Lair,d and Kevin Eastman. Their original idea was developed way back in 1987, and last year in October, the first of five issues of the epic tale was published with the help of Tom Waltz and Andy Kuhn and brought to life with the art from Kuhn and Ben Bates. Currently, four issues have been released, with the final issue set to release in May, and now we know three official figures are going to be released as well!
The Last Ronin Figures
We’ll begin with Playmates Toys figure. The Playmates toys version of The Last Ronin is based on the original vintage style of the toys as a base. There are two version, the full color and the comic book black and white. The comic-book black and white is a random variant that cannot be ordered separately. Both figures come with the following accessories: bo staff, 2 katanas (one broken), grappling hook and rope, and 4 throwing stars. It retails for $29.99 and is available to pre-order now for its release date set for November 2022.
Here’s the official product description as found on Big Bad Toy Store:
“Taken right from the hit comic book, this Last Ronin action figure has it all! This meticulously detailed, authentically decorated, and highly poseable figure stands 4.5″ tall and features 14 points of articulation to recreate your favorite scenes. Don’s bo staff, Mikey’s nunchaku, Raph’s twin sai, and both of Leo’s katanas, one with a broken blade, are included as accessories, along with a grappling hook and rope that fasten to his accessory belt. The PREVIEWS Exclusive Last Ronin figure comes packed in a highly collectible Last Ronin branded window box package that includes an overview of his mission.”
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Then there are the NECA versions of The Last Ronin! While being a diehard Turtle Fan and likely getting both. I definitely favor NECA. The NECA Figures have pretty much been the epitome of TMNT figures since 2008 or 2009. They are beautifully detailed plus they are incredibly articulate which makes for incredible posing. NECA will have two figures, one in full garb and a topless version. While no release date or concise pictures of the accessories were provided, Trevor Zammit let it be known that all the accessories are ideally being designed to fit on the character as it does in the comic.
Both figures are in production and are set to be available for pre-order via the NECA Store. Hopefully, they will have the two-week order window so fans will not have to worry about scalpers buying all of them. However, it wouldn’t be out of the question to have an SDCC exclusive version, which will of course be near impossible to get. But SDCC sets tend to be 4-packs, so chances of The Last Ronin should be pretty low.
My Thoughts on The Last Ronin Figures As a Person Who Spends a Noticeable Amount of His Income on TMNT Toys
Personally, the Playmates Toys version is a bit disappointing. While they are the original toy makers of the TMNT, they have seriously lacked the quality that every other toymaker with the TMNT license has. It is nice that their Last Ronin figure will have knee and elbow joints, and it is beautifully painted, but its overall design is unbalanced. The body is noticeably thicker than the limbs. Plus most of the accessories look decorative. It would be nice to add it to the TMNT mainline toys, but I could add $20 and get a cool statue instead. The most impressive part about it is its packaging.
The NECA Last Ronin figures on the other hand are bonafide masterpieces. Full and accurate encapsulation of the art from the books, fully functional accessories, and logical proportions. The topless figure beautifully captures the wear and sadness of the character. The figures are essentially flawless. The only “flaw” I can force myself to see, is that the topless figure still has the bottom parts of the tunic. The flaps are obviously part of the tunic, not karuta haidate, so they really shouldn’t be there. Outside of that, FLAWLESS.
Anyway, bask in the glory of these figures, more so the NECA ones. Have comfort in the relative ease of acquiring them. And if you want more The Last Ronin merch, Diamond collectibles has this glorious statue available for pre-order.
What do you think of The Last Ronin figures (and statue)? Are you caught up on the books? How do you think it will end? Let us know what you think in the comments below and share your theories with us on Twitter.
Source: The Fwoosh
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