This Sunday, November 22nd, a special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated episode will air on Nickelodeon, titled Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past. Based off the Half-Shell Heroes line of toys from Playmates, this is the first animated special using the brand.
In conjunction with the special, Playmates is releasing a set of toys based of the Turtles and their dinosaur counterparts in the cartoon. Here are the details from Playmates:
On Sunday, November 22, an all-new TV special, titled Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past, will air on Nickelodeon. The one-hour special takes the Half-Shell Heroes back in time to a prehistoric era for a wild adventure. The Turtles and their pizza-loving prehistoric pets must stop a sinister alien dino race from changing the Earth’s future forever.
To coincide with the new TV special, Playmates Toys, the company behind the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line, is introducing a collection of dino-themed toys. Kids will now be able to re-create adventures seen in the TV special or they can let their imaginations run wild to create their own adventures with the Turtles and their new dinosaur friends!
The new collection is an extension of the Half Shell Heroes preschool segment, which features toys with bright colors, fun expressions and safe play features for smaller preschool hands. The new dino-themed Half Shell Heroes collection includes a variety of 2-packs, with each pack containing a 2.5-inch Turtle action figure dressed in a caveman-style and a fully poseable dinosaur.
The Dino-themed Half Shell Heroes 2.5-inch figure 2 packs are available in the following assortment:
- Leo & Triceratops
- Donnie & T-Rex
- Mikey & Brachiosaurus
- Ralph & Pteranodon
The toys are recommended for children ages 3 and up, and the 2-packs are available now at major retailers for $6.99 each.
What do I love about this special and these toys? They harken back to my childhood in that the designs are based directly off a set of the original TMNT toys.
Photo courtesy of Virtual Ninja Turtle Museum
I actually still have a few of these guys with my TMNT collection in storage. They were a really fun collection to have.
I have a feeling that the new Mikey doesn’t have a mini Stegosaurus with him in his 2pk because of the spikes for the Stego. His dino is a nice replacement (and a nod to the cartoon special if you pay attention), and the other three are matches to their cartoon counterparts, so that’s great.
I know I am looking forward to the Blast to the Past special on Sunday, and maybe even picking up a couple of the Half-Shell Heroes 2pks. Will you be joining me?
Justin Pilgrim