Who would have guessed that it would take me until 2023 to review a Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles toy on this website?

Considering my questionable consistency and work ethic, I’m sure most of you are not surprised it took me this long. But TMNT was one of the biggest toy lines of the 1990s and I was not immune to Turtle Fever as a child, so here’s hoping this little post is just the beginning of me diving into the oozy waters of the TMNT franchise.

Here’s a look at a fun variant of everyone’s favorite reporter from later in the line– 1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O’Neil!

The Cruelest Month: A Childhood Without 1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O’Neil

TMNT is a big deal for people of almost all ages. I’m an Elder Millennial, so I grew up with the original cartoon series, the Archie Comics, and the first few years of the toy line. People older than me were likely more into the initial Mirage Comics, the early action figures, and the Toei-animated 1987 miniseries that kicked off the long-running animated series. People younger than me have the 2003 cartoon, the 2012 cartoon, Rise of the TMNT, IDW Comics, and plenty of other stuff.

Now, with Mutant Mayhem still running in theaters, a whole new generation is being captivated by the four mutant reptile brothers and their wacky frenemies.

TMNT has been around for a long time and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. And even when it does lay low for a while, it never takes long to peek back out of its shell for another go.

As a young kid, my first real toys were probably Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and other die cast cars. Those were followed by Lego and a small smattering of GI Joe and Transformers. I still love all of those things.

For about a year between 1989 and 1990 (my memory is hazy because I was very young), I was obsessed with Kenner’s Real Ghostbusters toys. Then, thanks to a marketing blitz that permeated nearly every aspect of my life, it was All Turtles All the Time.

My mom used to recount how hard she had to fight and how many places she had to look for the initial TMNT toys I received in either 89 or 90. I didn’t know how tough it was at the time, but I really appreciate everything she went through to get me those toys. Stores could not keep them in stock and the competition between parents (and likely some adult collectors) was fierce.

Over the course of two years I built up a collection of maybe 16 TMNT figures and four or five vehicles. I played with them all the time. I had some of the early “hard head” Turtles, some Wacky Action Turtles, and various allies and villains. I never had an April O’Neil or Shredder figure, though, which I was always sad about.

Even as a kid, I really liked April in the cartoon. I thought she would greatly expand and enhance the Turtle adventures I had in my backyard and my bedroom. One of my friends had the original wave one April (with “Press” written on her chest, which he looked at with enormous, perverse glee), but that was the only time I got to experience an April figure as a kid.

My last couple childhood TMNT figures were released in 1992. By then, I was pretty much only paying attention to GI Joe and Lego. I remember seeing TMNT figures on the pegs in the following years and thinking some of them were cool, but my small amount of money was always reserved for other toys.

When I re-started my Turtle collection in 2009 or so as an adult, an April O’Neil figure was one of the first toys I sought out. I’ve had this 1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O’Neil figure carded since 2009 or 2010, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to open up the toy and write a review.

1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O’Neil Review

In 1988, Playmates toys released the first April O’Neil figure in the original wave of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys. That exact figure saw at least two releases (with and without the “Press” logo that made my friend giggle so much as a kid) before a new head was created for the figure to better resemble her appearance in the popular cartoon series.

The “new head” April was released in either 89 or 90 (sources seem to vary) and was painted with some nice orange and blue highlights. For more information on April’s various releases, you can visit The Virtual TMNT Toy Museum.

This particular figure is nearly the same as the 1990 version, but was released again in 1994 with slightly different colors and blue accessories (instead of the original’s dark grey). While I’m relatively certain this exact figure comes from 1994 since it’s packaged on a 94-style card, I could be wrong. The year on the card says ‘1993,’ but my research shows it’s a 94 release.

Good sources are hard to find on this, so please let me know in the comments if I’m incorrect.

You’ll notice that the back of the package doesn’t mention her gun in the “Accessories Close Up” section, but it is mentioned in her bio card.

The later cards are still nice, but do lose some of the charm of the line’s early packaging. The artwork on the front is still good, but it’s not unique to each character. The design on the back is also decent (the pizza is a nice tough), but it’s also very busy and a little overwhelming due to all of the cross-sell characters it features.

But still, we’re here to open the toy. So here’s 1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O’Neil:

While many other versions of April were released in the vintage TMNT line, it’s easy to see why Playmates went back to the original body mold so many times. This April is simple but looks very nice– her pose is action-oriented but not extreme, the colors are bright and pleasant, and she looks basically how you’d want an April O’Neil from the time to look.

She has a swivel joint at the neck, a swivel at each shoulder, a swivel at each forearm (where it meets the sleeve), and a simple swivel at each hip. She doesn’t get the range of many TMNT figures (who mainly had ball-link joints at the hips), but what she has works well. She is also very stable on her feet, which cannot be said for many TMNT toys of the era.

I’m a big fan of this head sculpt. I think the original 1988 April head sculpt is good, too, but this one is more in line with the old cartoon and Archie Comics. Plus, I just think it’s a better looking head all around.

April has had many looks over TMNT’s various media incarnations and they are all good and valid. Eastman and Laird didn’t originally conceive of April as a white, red-haired reporter– but that’s how many people my age and older think of her. In that regard, this is a nice, standard April for a vintage TMNT collection and the head sculpt is a big part of that.

You’ll also notice the “PRESS” on her chest, which has been an on-and-off feature of every version of this toy. Every 1994 April has the logo, as far as I know. I’m fine with it being there and have no strong opinions on if the toy is better with or without it.

April’s cartoon and comic jumpsuit didn’t feature the orange and blue stripes and highlights, but I think they work very well for an action figure. They add much more visual interest to the figure and make it really “pop” in its packaging and on a store shelf.

While people refer to the piping as “blue,” it almost looks green against the orange stripes. Regardless of the exact color, I think it looks very attractive and adds some nice detail to what’s otherwise a very basic sculpt.

April’s right arm is curled into a more ‘action-oriented’ pose, while her left arm is entirely straight and kind of pointing with two fingers. I think the sculptors probably could have chosen better arm poses for the toy, but these aren’t too far off from what a lot of other vintage TMNT toys were doing at the time.

April has the “Turtles” logo across her back like she’s part of an outlaw motorcycle club. I think this is both silly and unnecessary, but it’s not without its charm. In the 90s it seems like most toymakers liked to stamp the toy line’s name and logo on as many actual toys as they could. Plus, I guess it let the boys of the time know this wasn’t just another icky girl toy– it was affiliated with the TURTLES. Of course plenty of girls have always been into TMNT, even back then, but the C-Suite Suits wouldn’t consider that fact back in 1994.

Here’s April compared to the 1990 version (left). That toy might have been initially released in 1989 on a different card, but the figure should be exactly the same (minus the press logo, which comes and goes as it pleases). You’ll notice this later 1994 April uses a brighter, more vibrant shade of orange. The paint also differs quite a bit on the figures’ heads. I tend to like this 94 version more for both of those reasons.

Here’s April with one of her later variants from 1992, which was just named “April.” Fans tend to call it “April II,” however. There were many other unique April sculpts in the vintage TMNT line, but this is all I have to show you. I have an April in Feudal Japanese garb from the third live action movie around here somewhere, but couldn’t find her in time for this review.

And here’s April with one of our four standard Turtle friends. She’s a bit taller, as she should be. I think she fits in very nicely with the rest of the line, as far as size and scale goes.

And finally, here’s another comparison. In case you’re not familiar with the size of a vintage TMNT figure or just need a little reminder, here’s April with ToyFare Scarlett (from GI Joe) and Teela from the Zoar 2-pack (from Masters of the Universe Origins).

Scale on vintage TMNT toys is funny because they don’t really fit in with too many other big contemporary toy lines. They’re too big for GI Joe, they’re too small for MOTU, and they don’t look right with most Kenner or Toy Biz superheroes from the era. They do, however, work perfectly with many of the TMNT “copycat” lines including Toxic Crusaders, Bucky O’Hare, and Cowboys of Moo Mesa.

Anyway, onto accessories!

April’s accessories all come attached to a plastic “tree,” and you have to clip them out. The 1990 version’s little accessory tree broke a pair of Gundam nippers, so I was extra careful this time around. I found that I had to go back and carefully trim off the plastic flash once I initially cut the accessories out, so it took a while. As a kid, I can’t imagine I did anything other than just twist the accessories off of their sprues, leaving jagged bits of plastic behind on each weapon. Simpler times.

Anyway, April comes with a blue ninja star, a blue computer/briefcase, a blue microphone, a blue pistol, and a blue camcorder part that slips over the pistol to form a whole video camera. These are the exact same accessories that came with every other version of this mold, just cast in blue instead of grey.

We’ll start with the video camera. The grip is angled, which works okay. And the accessory itself looks pretty good and is a natural fit for the character. I will say that there was likely some mold degradation over the years, though, and the camera piece fits very loosely over the gun piece, which functions as the camera’s grip– it just likes to droop or fall off in many poses. My 1990 April’s gun/camcorder set up does not have those problems.

Next up, we have the handgun itself. I like that it hides inside the camera, and April gets a good grip on it. It also makes sense for a gal who’s often covering dangerous news stories all alone at night in a big city to be packing some heat. It’s an oddly practical and realistic weapon for a TMNT figure. I like it.

A simple ninja star is April’s only other real weapon. These things came with a lot of TMNT toys of the time and they were very easy to lose. April can hold the ninja star perfectly in her left hand and you can even get some pretty good throwing poses out of it. I can see Splinter not approving of April’s pistol and giving her one of these “just in case.” A nice inclusion!

Next up is April’s microphone. This thing is very soft when it comes to detail and almost looks like a flashlight. It doesn’t resemble the iconic news microphones we all saw on TV in the 80s and 90s, so I’m not sure what Playmates was going for here. Still, she holds it well and I’m glad it was included.

Finally, we have April’s portable computer. At first, it just looks like a case she might keep extra microphones, electronics, or other news-related gear in. It fits well in her hand and looks good.

But the case opens to reveal a computer inside! There are some decent little details inside, but I wish Playmates would have provided a sticker for the screen like they did with so many of their Star Trek toys. Still, it’s a cool accessory that I would have loved as a kid. It’s easy to imagine April taking notes for breaking news stories, hacking the Foot Clan, or doing research to help the boys on one of their missions. Plus, the case can fit the ninja star inside.

It should go without saying, though, that the hinges on the case stress pretty easily since they’re just a thin strip of plastic. So exercise a little bit of caution.

I think April O’Neil is a vital character for the TMNT franchise. She’s been many things over the years, and I’ve enjoyed all of them. I enjoy that the character can evolve and become something different in newer iterations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but this exact April is a nearly perfect representation of the cartoon and comic character I remember from my childhood.

Overall: This is a solid, high-quality figure that represents a character I love from a franchise I’ve been obsessed with since I was 5 or 6 years old. She looks pretty close to how she looked in the cartoon and Archie Comics, but the orange and blue highlights add a ton of visual flair that make for a fun action figure. Her accessories are also character-appropriate and also work very well. It’s not very different from the 89 or 90 versions of the toy, but any version you choose is Highly Recommended.

Closing Thoughts on 1994 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O’Neil

How’s that for my first TMNT toy review? I had fun writing it and taking these photos, so I hope you enjoyed it, too.

I will say that I’m still figuring out how to best take photos of these toys. I only have so many playsets and diorama pieces that work with them and I just don’t feel quite sure of myself yet. I do like how most of these pictures turned out, but I know I need some improvement when it comes to TMNT photography. But don’t worry– I’ll get there!

In the future, I want to take a look at some of the recent Playmates reissues of the vintage toys, since they’re kind of piling up around my house. In most cases, I won’t have vintage counterparts to compare them to, but I should still be able to speak on the overall quality of the toys.

Hopefully that’s something you’re all interested in. It’s weird that I run a site about 90s toys and I’ve taken this long to get to TMNT, but here we are!

Anyway, what’s your favorite version of April? As a toy? As a character? And what’s your favorite TMNT figure? Let me know in the comments!