Nostalgia. Excitement. Pure happiness. Bliss. These were only some of the things I felt while I was opening the Giant Leonardo Playset, from Playmates Toys. I have been dreaming about this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy ever since I first saw it at the North American International Toy Fair back in February, and I was so stoked to finally have it in my hands!!
After you first take Leonardo out of the box, you simply have to attach his feet, arms, and bandana onto his body (little ones might need Mom and Dad’s help). The figure stands a bit over two feet tall and is approximately 16 inches wide. He has two points of articulation on each arm, perfect for posing him any way you want. He can even hold his signature 18-inch Katana sword.
Any kid would be crazy if they didn’t want this guy on his own. But, that’s all he does, right? Wrong.
Fast forward just three minutes later, and Leonardo was transformed into a giant, fully functional play set with movable parts. (I then needed to take a moment to take in all of the sheer awesomeness that is this toy.) I cannot stress enough how much play value it has for the price!
I really love how easy it is to convert Leonardo from a figure to the Sewer Lair. At first, I had to use the instructions to know exactly what opens and which rooms are where, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly. And let me tell you, this play set is not messing around. It has more than 30 features, such as spring activated surprises, false floors, and one of my favorites, a skate park. There are also nine different rooms for endless Turtle action play, including Turtles’ Living Room, Splinter’s Meditation Room, Mikey’s Pad, Turtle’s Dojo, Street Level Lookout Tower, Donnie’s Workshop, Computer Lab, Turtles’ Jail, and Skate Park Half-Pipe.
The set is compatible with most basic TMNT action figures, so kids can make them do anything from putting villains in jail to swinging from streetlights. Best of all, the action figures can fold inside the set when playtime is over. Do you know what that means? No missing figures! Ever!
Needless to say, I am still swooning over this set because it’s everything I could have dreamed of and more. Giant Leonardo is definitely everything any TMNT fan would want in a play set, and will definitely have them shouting, “Booyakasha!”
