As a first post on this blog, I wanted to include one of the first action figures I have ever owned. This is Storage Shell Raphael from 1991. I was and am a complete Turtlehead. I think for a lot of us, the cartoon and the action figures combined hooked us. They just looked so awesome and being able to live out the stories with Action Figures was an extra. I was also an avid fan of the comics and collected the Dutch version of TMNT Adventures as published by Archie Comics.
Now I'm not completely sure that Raph was my first, as I also own a Rock 'N roll Michaelangelo that was released in 1989, but I was too young when that came out to safely play with action figures with small bits, so that's why I'm highlighting Raph (Mike is still on my shelf, tongue sticking out and all.) Another one of my firsts was a Mutatin' Bebop, but I know that was definitely a later addition, being released in 1992.
I can't tell you how much Turtles and their toys mean to me as a person. They're a big part of my childhood and probably one of the first things I remember collecting. I remember religiously watching the cartoon (for as long as it was on in the Netherlands) and long after it went off the air (before the series ended, I don't remember ever seeing the redesigned ones) I kept looking for Turtle stuff. It never truly went away and to this day I still look out for TMNT-related material. On that note, the IDW run of the TMNT is so far the longest running and best written comic series on the Hamato clan.
I love the sculpt of this, with a bit more of a rounder and more squat shape than the original Raphael figure, I love the gimmick of storage in the figure itself and overall I find it looks better than the original Raphael from 1988. The red belt is also a very nice touch. It's a figure that for sentimental reasons will stay in my personal collection for a long time.