Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Street Showdown set (Mega Bloks, 2015)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Street Showdown #DPD79 (Mega Bloks, 2015)

I started picking up the Mega Construx figures because of the Masters of the Universe releases, which I think are great!  Since then, I've been more aware of the Mega Construx and Mega Bloks sets, so when I saw this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set (still sealed in the original box) for $5, I picked it up without hesitation!  

TMNT Street Showdown Box DPD79

This set is the Mega Bloks "Street Showdown" set # DPD79.  It's one of a series of sets that goes back to the original black & white Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books prior to the cartoon and original action figures and it's full of nods to TMNT history.  The set contains two figures, Raphael and Casey Jones, and the "Second Time Around" second-hand store.  The Raphael figure has a metal shell, which is kind of cool.  He comes with his typical pair of Sai as well as one throwing star.  Casey Jones comes with a golf bag, golf club, hockey stick, and baseball bat.  There are also two manhole cover action figure stands included in the set.

Casey Jones and Raphael with their accessories and stands

This set was designed to work as either a stand-alone set or together with set #DPD80 "Rooftop Combat."  Fans of TMNT will recognize "Second Time Around" as the store that always appears underneath April O'Neil's apartment.  The "Rooftop Combat" set is a bigger set than this one, but includes a room with a desk that can be placed on top of the shop from this set (thus making it a room from April's apartment).  I feel like that's a clever idea and a nice touch for linking together these two sets while giving a nod to the Turtle's history. 

Store front, Raphael, and Casey Jones

As someone who hadn't owned any Mega Bloks sets (only Mega Construx figures), I couldn't help noticing how similar the pieces were to Legos.  In fact, after a bit of research, it appears that Lego has tried to stop Mega Bloks from making such similar pieces with multiple lawsuits, but Mega Bloks has won each time.  Although I haven't tried it, I suspect that the pieces from this set would be interchangeable with similar Legos.  In terms of design, I think this set is put together nicely.  My one, small criticism of the playset design is that the shelves in the shop are flat instead of having connecting dots and as a result, the vase and lantern pieces which are included in the set are constantly falling off of the shelves.  It's a minor complaint, but it was so bothersome that I ended up putting them both in the chest.

Inside view of the "Second Time Around" shop

Unrelated to the design of the shop, there doesn't really seem to be a good way to get the figures to hold the throwing star.  It's cool that they included the throwing star and if it had been designed to be held easier, it wouldn't look as good.  It's simply a case of the designers choosing form over function.  My point is more of an observation than a criticism.  Also worth noting is that this set comes with a tiny Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book...or would this be considered a Raphael solo issue?  Either way, it's a nice touch because this comic featured the first appearance of Casey Jones way back in 1985 which ties together the set nicely for me...and if you really want to read meaning into this issue that probably isn't there, the issue is from April of 1985.

Throwing star and mini comic included with the Street Showdown set

In conclusion, I think this is a neat set!  The figures alone were easily worth the $5 that I spent.  Even the original MSRP of $19.99 isn't bad, although honestly, I probably wouldn't have paid that much since I don't currently collect Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  In fact, now that I've finished this review, I going to pass this set on to a friend who does collect TMNT.  What's better than getting this set for $5?  Getting it for free!

Do you collect Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys or Mega Bloks?  What do you think of the "Street Showdown" set?  Tell me in the comments below!

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