(Warning: This review contains nearly 80 large images, so I recommend that you’re either connected to Wi-Fi or are using an unlimited data plan when you read it)

Today we’re taking a look at some recent TMNT reissues from Playmates Toys. Playmates has been on a hot streak recently with their vintage Turtle re-releases and I’ve purchased most of them. I plan on covering what I have and I need to start somewhere, so this is what I’ve chosen.

Today we’re looking at the 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Turtles Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael reissue figures. But don’t worry, I’m not leaving Donatello out in the cold.

We’ll also be looking at the original 1990 Don, the Storage Shell Turtle, so we can compare it with these re-releases.

Let’s get right into these ooze drinkers and shell raisers.

2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Turtles Overview

In the 21st century, Playmates Toys has been all about practical reuse of older toy molds. They’ve reused their large, 7″-scale ‘Classic Turtles’ for crossovers with Street Fighter and Karate Kid. They’ve reissued the Mirage Comics Turtles from the 2012 toy line in a variety of colors. And they’ve also liberally dipped into the vintage TMNT well, too.

It’s easy to say Playmates is resting on their laurels and only re-releasing old toys. And that’s partially true. But they’re also cranking out some good new stuff when they can be bothered to, as well. Both the Mutant Mayhem and Star Trek Prodigy lines are examples of great new toys from Playmates. The problem is that they seem to abruptly cut their new lines short in favor of re-releasing old toys.

Luckily, some of those old toys are quite good and the quality of the most recent reissues has been more than acceptable. The Storage Shell Turtles have a long history and they’re fan favorites, so I was excited to get another crack at them.

Back when I was in early elementary school, Storage Shell Don was the most popular toy on the playground. He was originally released in 1990 and it would take the other Turtles a whole year to follow him onto shelves.

I had that toy as a kid (I likely got him in 1991) and he was one of my all time favorites. But I never had any of the others until recently.

A few years ago, I reacquired a vintage Storage Shell Don and remembered why I loved the toy so much. When I saw the news of the whole Storage Shell team getting a re-release, I was pretty excited.

It took me a good while to find them. I ended up overpaying (about $17 each) for Raph, Mike, and Leo since I didn’t need the whole pack with Don.

So, in this review, I’ll talk about the quality and features of the 2023 reissues compared to the original 1990 Don, the Storage Shell Turtle.

I’ll mostly be noting differences in their individual reviews, but I do want to say a few things up front.

First, the plastic used for these toys feels good, the paint is good, and the joints move how they should. They feel very similar to vintage TMNT toys, even if the plastic type is not exactly the same.

Left: 1990 Accessory, Right: 2023 Accessory

The color of the accessories is slightly different when you compared vintage to the re-releases. The plastic on the new accessories is slightly lighter, but you’d be hard pressed to tell unless you saw both sets in person.

And the plastic used for the new accessories is a bit gummier, softer, and more transparent in nature. For the most part it’s not a problem, but you’ll see a few instances where it does make a difference.

Now onto the individual reviews.

2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Michelangelo Review

I’m not going in any particular order here, so I figured I’d start with the first Turtle from the set I opened– Michelangelo.

Each of the four 2023 figures were released on cards that strongly resemble their vintage counterparts, at least from the front.

The 1991 vintage releases all featured a TMNT villain on the top center of the card. Michelangelo’s featured Groundchuck. That artwork is no longer present since none of those villains are currently on shelves. But, otherwise, the card looks great and is a great homage to the original.

The card back looks much more modern. Instead of describing each of the figure’s accessories, there’s a simple cross-sell, social media info, copyright info, and the vintage illustration that tells the origin of the Ninja Teens. The bio card remains basically the same, except it does not list Mike’s missing accessory. More on that in a bit.

Overall, it’s a nice presentation. Note how the four Turtles are pictured on the cross-sell, though– there is no way in hell you’re getting the accessories to fit in the shell as demonstrated. That was true of the vintage figures, though, too.

In 1991 when Storage Shell Mike was originally released, Playmates was already going bonkers with Turtle variants. It was much easier to find the boys in wacky costumes than it was to find a “regular” version.

The Storage Shell Turtles were a great thing for kids who missed out on the originals from the late 80s, as they presented the Teenagers With Attitude in fairly traditional designs, along with their iconic weaponry. Plus, the opening shells added some new functionality.

Simply put, this looks like Michelangelo. A good, basic Michelangelo. It very much keeps to the Playmates Toys aesthetic instead of the cartoon aesthetic, as the figure looks much meaner and grittier than he ever did on TV. But, in my mind, that’s a good thing. I always liked the look of the toys more than the friendlier look of the cartoon.

Mikey is all muscles and veins. The sculpting is excellent. The elbow pads seem to disappear in the creases of his bent elbows, but that’s true for all four Turtles in this set.

You’ll also notice that Mike’s belt is orange instead of the traditional black. I like the look of this, but don’t think it makes too much difference overall. The belt is also not removable, unlike the gear that came with the original Turtles. But you can’t really have an opening shell and a removable belt at the same time, can you?

Mike is sculpted in a flat-footed stance, which makes him easy to stand up. His default stance is also great– he looks ready for action! His articulation means he can’t get into a ton of poses, but what’s here is more than enough for play.

Mike moves at the head, shoulders, forearms, and hips. This is true for all four Storage Shell turtles.

When you open the shell, you can see how the joints work. The original vintage Turts all had ball-and-socket joints for their legs, which gave them more movement than the average action figures. The Storage Shell Turtles utilize simple swivel joints for the legs, which is necessitated by the large storage cavity inside the figure.

The Storage Shell Turtles also paid attention to detail in another way. Each individual character was cast in a different shade of green plastic, similar to their original figures. The colors are not exact between the two, but it’s close. I’m guessing the exact color hue is different between the 91 figures and these reissues, as well.

But, when you compare this figure to the original (my original is a reissue from 2009, which was a very good set of reissues), you can see that 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Michelangelo is a nice, basic version of the character. The stance is different and the facial expression is a bit more extreme, but this could easily be the default Mike in any kid or fan’s collection.

The other appeal of the Storage Shell Turts lies in the accessories. They have a bunch of them, and the toy itself can basically store or hold them all at once.

(Let’s give a shoutout to the Ghostbusters Haunted Terlet for assisting me with these accessory shots)

Michelangelo comes with two nunchaku, a grappling hook, a pizza disc blade, a flashlight, and two shuriken. They’re all cast in the same brown plastic.

The original Storage Shell Mike also came with a sickle weapon, but that’s been entirely omitted here. I’m not sure if that happened because of cost reasons or because Playmates lost the mold (as Eric of Toys and Tomfoolery said to me, it’s hard to believe that Playmates ever lost a mold for anything).

It’s a cool accessory and I do find myself missing its inclusion here. You can see it (and the original packaging) in more detail at the Virtual TMNT Toy Museum.

Let’s start with the essentials– Mike’s ‘Chuks. These are your basic early TMNT nunchaku, and they fit well in the figure’s hands. They seem to be a slightly different mold than what the original Mike came with, or the detail has just softened over time.

If you’ve ever owned an old Michelangelo, you know to be a little bit careful with these. The plastic on the “chains” can stress and break pretty easily if you bend them too far or for too long. You can store these on the figure’s back, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it for too long, as the weapon might snap in two. It’s also a bit of a tight fit and using the chuck-holders is not easy to do. But that’s fine since he can just hold them.

It’s also odd that there are only three storage slots for four nunchaku handles. I’m not sure what the designers were thinking there. But still, you can use these belt loops for both the grappling hook and the flashlight with little fuss.

Next up, the shuriken. These are simple, easily-lost little things. They’re an essential TMNT weapon, though, and I’m glad he has them. They seem to be the exact same mold as the ninja stars that came with the original Turtles and many, many other figures in the vintage line. But why fix what isn’t broken?

Mikey can hold the shuriken between his fingers just fine, and there’s also a special peg inside the shell that holds them perfectly. You’ll see that more in a moment.

We also have a flashlight. It’s a fine accessory, but it’s probably the least exciting of the bunch. I probably would have found some use for it as a kid, though, so it’s not a bad inclusion.

Now we have the pizza disc, which is a combination of a pizza and a saw blade. I’ve always really liked these. It’s just the most TMNT thing in the world. The figure can hold it in either hand. In my mind, this is an essential weapon/snack for the figure and I’m glad it was included.

Here’s a closer look at the sticker that makes up all the detail on the disc. Keep it in mind, Memorize it. Because we’ll be coming back to it later.

Finally, we have the “sewer pipe” grappling hook. The is another fun accessory for Mike. In season four of the original cartoon, the animators were forced to show Michelangelo using the Turtle Line (a grappling hook) as his signature weapon instead of his nunchaku. That’s because the Br*tish were afraid of nunchucks and showing them on TV in the form of a non-violent cartoon for babies was more offensive to them than all of the gratuitous violence and nudity in their Sunday newspapers. So, in order to please the Engl*sh and their lust for censorship, Mikey’s weapon was changed to a grappling hook.

The accessory itself is pretty fun and includes a small length of string. You can add a longer string if you want to. I won’t tell anyone.

Now for the Storage Shell itself. You can clearly see how the shuriken fit on their little peg, and the rest of Mikey’s accessories all fit neatly inside the shell, and it closes perfectly around them. Without the sickle, he can easily hold everything he comes with. No more lost pieces!

Overall: Despite the missing weapon, 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Michelangelo is a great little toy. The sculpt and colors are on-point– he works perfectly as a classic, basic Mikey. His accessories are also fun, the Storage Shell gimmick works well, and he’s easy to stand up and display. The quality plastic means he’s durable and fun to play with, as well. He’s Recommended.

2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Raphael Review

Now that we’ve covered all of the basics (and most of the differences from the vintage Storage Turts) with Mike, we can cruise right along with the rest.

Next u is my favorite Turtle, Raphael.

Again, the card art is nice but it’s missing the drawing of Rocksteady in the top center of the card that was featured on the vintage packaging.

Raph’s bio remains the same as what we saw on the original. It’s pretty unhinged, and also a fun read. I’ll just bet his compartment is crafty, all right.

Again, this is a pretty good basic Raphael figure. Befitting his nature as the most extreme Turtle, his face is about 90% teeth, though. I confess I don’t love this head sculpt, and I think it’s probably a little bit Too Much, even for a ‘Cool But Rude’ dude like our guy Raphael.

Still, it has its charms.

Right out of the packaging, my 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Raphael figure’s head joint was completely stuck. I’ve experienced this with plenty of modern, super-articulated action figures, but never with a vintage-style toy. Some hot water freed it up, but I’d urge caution if this happens to you. You don’t want to twist the figure’s head off when you’re trying to move it.

Raphael seems to use the exact same legs as Michelangelo, so he’s in a flat-footed stance and he’s easy to stand up. I believe his arms are totally unique, and the rest of the sculpting is great.

The original Raph toy featured storage for his sai on the front of the belt, but also had another pouch on the back of the belt (perfect for storing a punch dagger), and this toy follows suit. I’m glad it does, as it gives you even more options. Raphael always had the most storage capacity of the four boys, and now he can store even more.

Storage upon storage.

Raph is rendered in a light green that’s similar to his original counterpart. Again, this is the 2009 reissue of the first Raph figure. Seeing the two next to each other really makes me wish the designers at Playmates dialed the Storage Shell head sculpt down a notch back in 1991. On well.

Unlike Michelangelo, Raphael includes all of the same accessories his vintage counterpart did.

(Thanks, Mr. Terlet!)

He includes two sai, two shuriken, a manta axe, a blowfish mace, and a pizza disc.

First up, Raphael’s trademark weapons– the sai! These very well could be the same mold as the first Raphael figure’s sai, but the plastic quality is very different. One was warped and stressed right out of the packaging. I did manage to bend it back into place using one of the sheaths on the figure’s belt, but you might have better luck with applying some heat and patience.

The sai store in the belt, as always.

If that’s too awkward for you, you can also store them in the sheath on the figure’s back, as well.

Next up, the shuriken! Again, I like these and Raph holds them just fine.

The boomerang (or ‘ninja-rang’ according to the packaging) is another pretty basic weapon. It’s a fun one, though, and kind of a novelty for an early TMNT figure. Raph can hold it in either hand, and I think it’s a fun weapon for him to have.

It also fits pretty well in the pouch on his back, which is probably the ideal place to store it.

Now, onto the pizza disc. Notice that it’s exactly the same as Mikey’s? The vintage Storage Shell Turts all got different stickers for their pizza discs, but all four boys have the same sticker for these reissues, which is kind of a bummer. I’m not even sure what this pizza is supposed to be– a margherita maybe?

Let’s move onto the wackier and, frankly, more unsettling weapons. Other than Mike, all of the Storage Shell Turtles come with animal-themed weaponry. It’s not clear if these are actual animals tied to chains or strapped to sticks, if they’re taxidermized, or if they are just loving approximations.

My guess is that Donatello broke into Splinter’s stash of “grownup juice” and “legal pipe tobaccos” one night in a effort to prove himself as a real adult, read a bunch of Zoobooks, and then spent a few chemically-enhanced hours making “brilliant new weaponry” for his brothers.

How else could you justify this manta axe? An axe is a cool weapon for a Ninja Turtle, and this one looks especially deadly. I enjoy the overall sculpt and the wavy blade is fun. Sure it’s a little bit psychotics, but who can argue with results?

Speaking of psychotic, the most deranged weapon in the entire set belongs to Raphael– the blowfish mace. He can either do what feels like bludgeoning you to death with a squishy cactus or make the thing into sushi (without the requisite expertise) and feed you poison. Either way, you’re dead.

Good thinking, Raph. This weapon fits you perfectly.

Sadly, Raphael cannot fit all of his weapons inside of his shell. The blowfish mace will not fit in there no matter how hard youtry. Everything else fits easily enough, though, and he can always hold the blowfish mace in one hand.

So, like Mike, Raphael can hold and/or store all of his weapons at once. Cowabunga!

(Note: This is an actual phrase used on the packaging for both the 1991 original and this reissue figure. There’s no way the copywriters didn’t know what they were doing.)

Overall: I don’t love the head sculpt on this one and a couple of the weapons seem a little bit unsavory to me, even by TMNT standards. The sai are too soft and warp easily. He also can’t fit all of his weapons inside of his shell. But it’s still a great Raphael figure, and that counts for a lot. Despite a couple little misgivings, this 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Raphael reissue is Mildly Recommended.

2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Leonardo Review

Now for the leader of the bunch and probably the least popular Turtle– Storage Shell Leonardo!

The original card featured an illustration of Pizza face in the top center and this card, again, does not have it.

You’re used to seeing this by now, but the bio is at least kind of fun.

According to the Virtual TMNT Toy Museum, there was a version of Storage Shell Leonardo with a black belt and translucent yellow weapons. I don’t know when or how that was released and can’t find any info on the matter. But this reissue has a blue belt and brown weapons, which seems to be a recreation of the more common vintage version.

Leonardo is gritting his teeth as hard as he can, but this is still a nice, basic version of the character. He doesn’t come off as extreme as Raphael does, and is pretty much an idealized Playmates and/or packaging art version of the character. It looks nice and I actually prefer this look with the blue belt.

Unlike the original Leonardo, the figure does not have straps across his shoulder. It’s just a basic belt, like all of the other Storage Shell Turts. You’ll see that in more detail when we get to the vintage comparison below.

Unlike Raph and Mike, Leo is not in a flat-footed stance. As was common with many original TMNT figures, one of his feet is posed with its toes bent. This makes him a bit more unstable than Raphael and Michelangelo, but balancing him isn’t too difficult.

He has sheaths for his swords on his back, but it’s a tight fit and leaving the swords stored that way might bend them out of shape over time. I’d advise caution. In any case, the sheaths don’t work as well as the ones on the original Leonardo.

Overall, though, I really like the sculpting on this figure and its overall look.

Notice the more intricate belt on the original. I think this is a worthy update, straps or not.

Accessories! 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Leonardo comes with his two katana, two shuriken, a pizza disc, an armadillo club, and two spiked knuckles/climbing claws. The original 1991 version had a “Turtle grappling hook,” but this one replaces that accessory with another spiked knuckle. So, he has the same amount of accessories as the vintage version, but the details have changed.

(All glory to the Haunted Terlet!)

Leo is nothing without his swords, so he has to come with his two katana. Much like Raphael’s sai, these are made of a gummy, soft plastic. One was severely warped right out of the package and I have not been able to fix it yet. He holds them nicely, though.

Here they are in their sheaths. Again, I’d advise you against keeping them in there long term.

It’s a ninja star! He has two of them and can hold them without a problem!

Surprise– Leo includes the same pizza disc as everyone else. He can hold it, too. Is there anything our fearless leader can’t do?

Moving onto our requisite animal-cruelty weapon, here’s Leo’s armadillo club. He holds it well in either hand and it’s actually a fun little weapon.

The detail on it is really good– it almost makes you wish this was a little armadillo buddy he could pal around with instead of a hapless critter strapped to a beatin’-stick.

Finally, we come to my favorite accessories in this entire Storage Shell Turtle set– the spiked knuckles. Sure, these can double as climbing claws, but that’s not nearly as cool. These look absolutely brutal and I love how Leo looks with them. He holds them securely, as well. Frankly, I’m not even mad about the missing grappling hook because I’d rather have another spiked knuckle instead, anyway.

Despite what this photo tells you, Leo absolutely can fit all of his extra weapons inside of his shell at once. I just had a hard time keeping the armadillo club balanced in there while taking the picture. But closing the shell up over all the weapons is no problem at all.

… really, Playmates?

Overall: 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Leonardo is a fantastic figure. Leo may be my least favorite Turtle, but this ended up being my favorite action figure of the bunch. The great head sculpt and spiked knuckles alone making him a worthy purchase. Strongly Recommended.

1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Donatello Review

Last but not least, we have my second-favorite Turtle and the only actual vintage figure of the bunch– the original Don, the Storage Shell Turtle!

I don’t have the card for this one (I’m not a billionaire), so we’re just going to have to look at the figure itself and its accessories.

Similar to Leo, it seems there was a variant Donatello with a black belt. The original 1990 release also had its weapons attached to a sprue (or “tree”) which you had to cut out yourself.

I’m also somewhat unclear on if the original 1990 version came with two bo staffs or one. But what fun is life without a few good mysteries?

This is the figure I fell in love with in first grade. Sure, he’s showing a little bit more gum than he should, but that just makes him look tougher. Right? And nerds like Donatello (couldn’t be me) need all the help they can get in the ferocity department.

Donatello might use the same legs as Leonardo, but they do look a bit different to me, at least when it comes to the fine details. Like Leo, Don is not flat-footed, but it’s not too hard to stand him up.

By the time I got Storage Shell Don as a kid, my original was pretty beat up and missing his belt, so this became my Default Donnie. Really, though, Donatello and Michelangelo had all of the coolest variants/costumes in the vintage line, so I was just as likely to use Undercover or Air Force Don as I was to use the version.

I really do enjoy the purple belt on this figure (purple is the best color, fight me) and the bo storage area looks pretty convincing, even without the support straps featured on the original Donnie.

With the shell open, you can see that nothing about the Storage Shells themselves has changed between 1990 and now. It still has the little peg for the shuriken and is otherwise plain and cavernous.

Here’s a comparison with the original Donatello. I will say that the plastic on this one (and the 2009 reissue of the original) feels just a tiny bit more hefty than what was used for the 2023 figures, but it’s neither super noticeable nor anything to fuss about.

I don’t have a neat little photo of all of  Storage Shell Don’s accessories (we’ll miss you, GB Terlet), so let’s just start with his trademark bo staff. I think it uses a different mold than the original 80s Don. Mine is a bit bent, but it still gets the job done. He holds it well and it looks good.

It’s pretty easy to store on his back, as well.

Donatello oddly doesn’t hold his shuriken as well as the other boys. I could barely balance it in his hand, but I could not get it to fit between his fingers.

Behold, Don’s pizza disc! It’s different than the others. That’s because Playmates could actually bother to print out more than one sticker back in the 90s. This one looks like it has some sardines and assorted veggies. Not super appetizing, Brainy Bro.

Donatello also comes with a slingshot, which is kind of a fun and novel weapon for a TMNT figure. Kids love slingshots and I had a lot of fun with this accessory as a kid. Donatello can even get into a good two-handed pose with it.

Now we’re onto the animal cruelty round, which is everyone’s favorite round. For being mutated animals, the Turts sure aren’t shy about maliciously using other creatures to achieve their own goals. This one is a fish knife! I like the sculpt on it, the figure holds it well, and it’s honestly just kind of fun to have a Ninja Turtle wielding a basic knife.

Our last accessory is a shark fin hatchet. There are some upsetting implications there. This is a cool looking weapon, though, and it seems much more like a hatchet for throwing or for fast attacks than Raph’s larger axe did. This is a fun little extra– a credible weapon for Donnie to use when he’s not swinging his bo staff around.

1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Donatello can fit most of his weapons inside of his shell, but not all of them. That slingshot is just not fitting in there, even if it’s the only piece you try to place inside of the shell. But everything else fits, and that counts for something.

Since I didn’t note it earlier, please know that the 2023 reissue of this toy comes with all the same accessories as the 1990 original. Unlike Leo and Mike, nothing is missing. Only the sticker on the pizza disc has changed.

Okay, this seems slightly more family-friendly

Overall: I really love 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Donatello and have since I was a small child. When it comes to Storage Shells, he’s the Turtle that started it all. He can’t quite fit all of his weapons inside of his shell, but all of his weapons are very fun– I would even say he has the best assortment of the bunch. Whether you go for the original 90 version or the 2023 reissue, this figure is Strongly Recommended.

Closing Thoughts on 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Storage Shell Turtles

Phew, that was a big one! Thanks for joining me.

Next, we’ll be returning to GI Joe. I might even dip back into that estate sale haul.

Did you have any Storage Shell Turtles as a kid? Did they appeal to you? Do they appeal to you now? How many Turtle accessories have you lost over the years? Let me know in the comments!