Michelangelo (Nickelodeon TMNT)

As mentioned in my review of the new Dontatello five-inch scale figure, I was so wowed by it that I was gripped by a mighty hankering for more Turtles from Playmates' recently-inaugurated Nickelodeon-based line. With very few exceptions, to this day I tend not to get the same figures as my brother (old childhood habits die hard). I had already picked up a Nickelodeon Leonardo for him, and since Leo and Raphael are average-sized and Don is the tallest of the Turtles in this incarnation, it seemed only fair for me to opt for the smallest of the four terrapin heroes: Michelangelo.

Mikey here is a value- and entertainment-packed toy, despite his diminutive stature (he's nearly a head shorter than Donatello). Like his brothers, he includes his main weapon--a pair of nunchuks--as well as some bonus accessories attached to a plastic sprue. He isn't in quite the same league of outright awesomeness as Donnie: his stockier frame makes posing less dynamic, the length of his limbs (particular the arms) are more outsized compared to the rest of his body, and his solid-plastic nunchuks will develop stress marks in the middle of the sculpted chain portion if placed in the figure's belt holsters as intended. His compact size does possess a certain charm, however; he's like a little articulated ball, and that adolescent grin on his face is a nice dash of personality that's merely the crowning flourish on an already fantastically rendered sculpt.

Like Donatello, the new 5" cartoon Michelangelo is one of the coolest mass-market action figures of the year thus far. I've had both for weeks now and I still can't put them down. At this point I can't want to see what Playmates has in store for future assortments. How many of the 2012 Turtles have you bought so far?