Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Sure, your first instinct is to think of the famed sculptors and painters of the Italian Renaissance… but for a very specific generation, these names conjured up images of four turtles, fighting crime while snacking on NY slices in their sewer bunkers. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were an absolute craze in the 80s and 90s, rivaling He-Man, GI Joe, and the Transformers for air-time on television. The premise, absurd at best, but it resonated wonderfully with a section of pre-teens and teens looking for something to validate their sense of rebellion. Four vigilante turtles, mutated to have humanoid characteristics, fought crime on the streets of NY using only an eclectic blend of martial arts and martial weapons. LEGO builder Teljesnegyzet decided to give these crime-fighting creatures their very own LEGO-based action figure set. Behold the LEGO Ideas TMNT kit, a rather accurate representation of the four turtles in their superhero garb. The set features the turtles in their four colored bandanas and bands, with their weapons of choice. Each turtle has a belt with their initials labeled on the buckle, and they’re even color-matched to their originals, showcasing four shades of green!
Designer: Teljesnegyzet
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles burst onto the scene in the late 1980s, captivating audiences with their unique blend of action, humor, and teenage angst. The concept revolved around four anthropomorphic turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, trained in the art of ninjutsu by their rat sensei, Splinter. Together, they battled the villainous Shredder and his Foot Clan in the sewers of New York City, fueled by their love for pizza.
The LEGO Ideas MOC (My Own Creation) captures the essence of the classic TMNT characters. The concept features buildable figures of all four turtles, each equipped with their signature weapons. Leonardo wields his katanas, Raphael his sai, Donatello his bo staff, and Michelangelo his nunchakus. While official build instructions aren’t available, judging from similar LEGO minifigure designs, we can expect the figures to stand around 4-5 inches tall and feature a range of articulation points for dynamic posing. Designer Teljesnegyzet does mention that the entire superhero quartet takes about 2522 bricks in total, which makes it a fairly complex build, but then again, nobody under the age of 20 will probably even remember the TMNT craze, right? (Not even the atrocious 2014 film with Megan Fox)
Teljesnegyzet’s fan-made build currently sits on the LEGO Ideas forum, an online community where LEGO enthusiasts gather to share their creations and vote for their favorites. With just over 1,700 votes, Teljesnegyzet’s MOC is looking to gradually hit the coveted 10,000 vote mark, following which LEGO’s internal team may turn it into a box-set that anyone can buy. You can vote for the LEGO Ideas Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle set on the LEGO Ideas website here.
