Casey Jones has always been a hit or miss character for me. In the Mirage comics, he had a certain maniacal charm. I don't remember him at all in the classic cartoon (although he did make a couple of appearances), but Casey from the 1990 movie was nothing more than a doofy oaf, a characterization that was unfortunately continued into the 200x series and 2007's TMNT movie. So let's see how this classic Casey Jones figure strikes me!
Stats
Year Stamped: 1989
Company: Playmates
Size: 4 1/2"
Price: $1.25 loose complete (with profile card) on eBay. The figure's in C8-C9 condition.
Packaging: Carded
Looks:
Unlike Fugitoid, upon whom Playmates took upon themselves to "improve", Casey looks like he came straight from the pages of the classic Mirage comics. Casey's mask, ripped sweat-shirt, and tied sweatpants all coalesce into the perfect tribute to his first appearance in the Raphael one-shot. There are a few subtle differences (most notably the addition of a shoulder pad), but this is exactly what I want in a Casey figure.
Playmates once again shows its keen eye for sculpting detail. Casey's six-pack isn't smooth and plasticy a la He-Man, but it's textured with body hair to give some interesting detail to the sculpt. If you look closely, you can even see some armpit hair. It's gross, yet cool at the same time.
I'm not sure if the colors are accurate as I don't think the Raphael one-shot was ever printed in color, but this figure's color scheme works well. The paint apps aren't bad for the time period, but there are some unpainted edges of his shirt that could be sharper.
Articulation:
7 points of articulation offer Casey some movement: swivel neck, swivel shoulders, swivel forearms, and ball-socket hips. As with many G1 TMNT figs, the cut of the hips restricts movement a bit. And I would have preferred one of his arms to be articulated at the elbow to give the figure some variety in battle poses.
Accessories:
Casey comes with two bats, a golf club, and a golf bag in which the bludgeoning instruments can be carried. As with Casey's looks, these accessories are totally accurate to the Raphael comic. In the comic, Casey's bats weren't broken, but that's okay... the jagged edges give the bats more of a savage look.
The epic battle of Casey vs. Raph!
Value:
A buck twenty-five for this figure is a steal. You might even be able to get a carded version on eBay for under ten bucks if you're frosty.
Casey ditches April for another Playmates Toys hottie!
Despite the doofy incarnations of Casey Jones throughout the years, the early Mirage comics proved that the Casey Jones character can be cool. Since this figure captures the look and feel of those comics, its coolness is greatly magnified.
Overall:
With a super-cool Mirage-inspired look, character-specific accessories, and a cheap price, this Casey Jones figure is a no-brainer to any Ninja Turtle fan. This figure might have been the first Casey Jones, but I'd argue that it's also the best... at least, until NECA decides to throw its hat in the ring and make Casey. I can only hope!
5 out of 5 - Simply incredible!
4 out of 5 - Pretty awesome!
3 out of 5 - Cool enough, I suppose.
2 out of 5 - Not quite good enough.
1 out of 5 - Pretty horrific!
0 out of 5 - No redeeming quality at all.
5 comments:
Nice write-up! Casey Jones was one of my favorites, too. Despite him being human, Playmates managed to make him as interesting and cool as the weirdos that made up the rest of the toy line (which makes me wonder why they repeatedly failed at Shredder). On the other hand, I seem to remember being disappointed that he only came with one golf club, since in the cartoon he wielded two.
By the way, he appeared in the cartoon twice in Season 3, then disappeared for two years before being featured in another episode and having cameos in a couple more. A clip of him was used in a T.V. program I saw once about violence in children's television. And, to be fair, you've got to wonder about a cartoon that shows children that golf clubs make great weapons.
What more can I add. Another great figure choice Nathan. I agree with everything. Casey Jones is just a great character, and I'm honestly surprised we havn't seen another decent rendition of him myself. This figure was pure fun back in the day. As with fugitoid..and quite a few other turtle figs of the day, I commonly found extra accessories at the fleamarkets. So I had plenty of extra bats and clubs for my Casey Jones figure. It's obvious you don't need any suggestions for other figures. :)
Thanks guys! And feel free to make suggestions, I'm always happy to hear them!
I'd say that the TMNT 2007 movie Casey Jones was a pretty cool rendition of the character, but it's not particularly faithful to the original Mirage comic.
You want to hear suggestions? I think you should review Krang, Metalhead, Mona Lisa, Mutagen Man, Ray Fillet, Scumbug, Wingnut & Screwloose, or Wyrm. Man, it was so hard narrowing it down to 8 suggestions.
Quite possibly my favorite action figure of all time! He was awesome in the cartoon and my love for him just grew with Elias Koteas' awesome performance in the first feature film. As for suggestions, how about Rat King or Mondo Gecko? I loved both of those!
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