TMNT Foot Cruiser 2025 Review - Epic Throwback or Major Letdown?

Cooltoy·video·7m 5s·analyzed·Oct 31, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

Doug reviews the 2025 TMNT Foot Cruiser reissue, praising design fidelity but noting sticker quality and figure fitment issues.

Summary

Doug from Cool Toy reviews the 2025 Playmates Toys reissue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Foot Cruiser, originally released in 1989. The review covers packaging fidelity, construction quality, included features (rotating guns, eyeball missiles, transforming flying mode), and playability with action figures, noting minor issues with sticker quality and figure fitment on the flying mode running boards.

Key Claims

Original 1989 retail price was $19.99, which adjusts to approximately $51 in 2025 dollars
high confidence · Doug (Cool Toy channel), opening segment discussing pricing and inflation adjustment
2025 reissue retail price is $32.99, available as Amazon exclusive at time of video
high confidence · Doug, product availability and pricing information
Playmates sticker quality on reissues is subpar and prone to tearing if repositioned
high confidence · Doug, recurring critique throughout review of sticker application experience
Foot Cruiser is modeled after a 1959 Cadillac design
high confidence · Doug, describing the vehicle's chrome grille and aesthetic design basis
The dash sticker is the most difficult sticker to apply due to its large size
high confidence · Doug, specific warning during sticker application segment
Original figures have their legs removed in original marketing materials to fit in the vehicle
medium confidence · Doug, noting this as a design constraint from original Playmates marketing practices
The reissue is approximately 1:1 scale accurate to the original 1989 release
high confidence · Doug, comparing construction and proportions to original version

Notable Quotes

“Adjust that for inflation and you're looking at about $51 in 2025.”
Doug@ 0:15 — Contextualizes the value proposition of the $32.99 reissue price relative to historical retail
“The only gripe I've ever had about any of these Playmate reissues is the sticker quality. I think it's lacking.”
Doug@ 1:48 — Establishes a recurring manufacturing quality issue across Playmates reissue line
“This thing looks absolutely amazing. Just as great as I remember.”
Doug@ 2:12 — Overall positive assessment of the final product aesthetics and nostalgic appeal
“Everything is plastic, so if you're thinking you're getting like diecast chrome metal here, you're out of luck.”
Doug@ 2:38 — Sets expectations for material composition; chrome is painted plastic, not metal
“I think it's awesome. I think all these reissues have been great so far.”
Doug@ 6:27 — Doug's overall recommendation and confidence in Playmates reissue quality trajectory

Entities

DougpersonCool ToyorganizationPlaymates ToyscompanyTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Foot CruiserproductTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesproductAmazoncompanyShredderproduct

Signals

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product_launch: 2025 reissue of 1989 TMNT Foot Cruiser by Playmates Toys launched as Amazon exclusive at $32.99 retail
high · Doug confirms Amazon exclusive status, retail price, and product availability at time of video recording
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product_concern: Recurring quality issue with Playmates reissue sticker quality; stickers are thin, prone to tearing upon repositioning
high · Doug states: 'The only gripe I've ever had about any of these Playmate reissues is the sticker quality. I think it's lacking' and reiterates this during assembly
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product_concern: Foot Cruiser flying mode running board posts are too large to accommodate action figure feet; figures cannot hang off the sides as originally marketed
high · Doug notes: 'those little posts are too big to throw somebody on there... I wish that was just filed down just a little bit so you could fit your figures on there'
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collector_signal: Amazon exclusive reissue experiences in-and-out-of-stock inventory fluctuation; expected to appear at other retailers within 6 months
medium · Doug states: 'This is as of the making of this video an Amazon exclusive... It keeps going in and out of stock' and predicts wider retail distribution
?
design_innovation: Foot Cruiser features dual-mode transformation: standard car mode with rotating guns and flying mode with extending fins and running boards
high · Doug demonstrates button-activated fin deployment and describes mode transition mechanics

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:02

The latest cool toy that we're going to be taking a look at on the channel today is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Foot Cruiser. This is the reissue release from Playmates Toys. Originally released back [music] in 1989. Retail price back then was $19.99. Adjust that for inflation and you're looking at about $51 [music] in 2025. Retail price on this is $32.99 from Amazon. This is as [music] of the making of this video an Amazon exclusive. I'll put a product link down in the video description box below. [music] It keeps going in and out of stock. Got to hand it to them. On the packaging, it showed up in an Amazon shipping [music] box. Then it had an outer box and an inner box and another inner box and there was blade protectors. I mean, they made sure this thing was collector friendly in terms of packaging. Box art very faithful to the original. Obviously, we don't have like little bowl cut kid uh [music] you know, playing with the toy down here like we did in all those old glam shots of we had in the original product. subtle changes here and there, you know, uh the Buzz Turtles on the ground or in the air. Uh I [music] believe that was red background instead of yellow on the original. And of course on the back, a lot of changes have been made. There's no cross cells for additional [music] products coming out. There's no turtle points. Uh you're going to have subtle changes here and there. They've got like the text here adjusted differently, but for the most part, the meat and potatoes are everything. It's going to be pretty pretty faithful to [music] the original release as far as the packaging, artwork, and design, which is great because this is, you know, the artwork we all fell in love with as kids. Beautiful artwork. Inside the box, all you're getting is some stickers, a very small sticker sheet. Luckily, this is pretty [music] much preassembled for the most part. You're basically just going to put on a couple of pieces. And then inside, we also have our [music] little instructions slash sticker guide where to place them. The only gripe I've ever had about any of these Playmate reissues is the [music] sticker quality. I think it's lacking. They're very thin and if you try to put them down on the on the, you know, device [music] anywhere and you try to peel it up, you're like, "Oh, I want to adjust it." And you're almost always going to rip that sticker. So, just kind of be forewarned. But let's go ahead and see what this [music] bad boy looks like out of the box. And here she is in all her marvelous glory. This thing looks [music] absolutely amazing. Just as great as I remember. They did, you know, some subtle changes here and there, mainly just kind of in the construction. [music] There was like some rivets up here that are no longer present, but for the most part, this is 1:1 scale accurate to [music] the original release. Uh, we got these beautiful chrome grill here, mimicking the 1959 Cadillac that this is kind of modeled after. Uh, wheels got that nice little chrome accent. Everything is plastic, so if you're thinking you're getting like diecast chrome metal here, you're you're out of luck. That's not the case. But it does look great. Uh, and the the chrome put on there, it it's not flaking anywhere. I [music] don't see any chips. So, it's nice uh to see one that's not beat up because, you know, as kids, we grabbed these things when we played with them and drove them into all sorts of stuff. And a lot of these, if you find the classic one, have all chipped up [music] and, you know, having the the chrome finish kind of peeling and painting uh coming off. But this thing looks great. The hardest sticker to apply by far is this uh dash sticker. So, it's one giant sticker. that you have to put on there. So, just kind of be forewarned, that one is a little bit tricky because it is so big. And like I said, if you put it down and try to peel it back up, it's uh it's not going to work out great for you. Features, we got all sorts of great stuff. So, you know, we got the the fake guns here on the front, but the you know, the pride and joy is opening this section, rotating [music] the gun around, and there you go. You got your foot blaster. Uh you got your little eyeball missiles here. Unfortunately, these don't like get shot out and there's no button that ejects them or anything. Thank you, Boba Fett, for ruining all projectile toys for most of children. But you got nice little foot grooves here, so you know, you got somebody standing there holding the minigun. And this does rotate left and right there. So, you can kind of change that in there. [music] But great uh figures do fit in there, albeit just like most of Playmates original marketing back then. Got the original shredder. Most of the time they took the [music] legs off the figures when they placed them inside the vehicle. Can you put them in there? Yes. It is very awkward. Uh there's not a whole lot of clearance. So, as you can see, Shredder's uh sitting kind of bowlegged in there. And of course, if I throw in BBOP Rock Steady kind of riding and driving him around, it's even more difficult. You got to cram them in there. But, you know, you can get the job done. You can get your original figures in there. The remaster [music] figures also fit. Uh, and then we also have our kind of flying feature, which is really [music] cool. So, on the bottom here, you're just going to push your wheels down. They got a nice little ratchet to them, so they're not loosey goosey, which is great. Get all four of your wheels. And these do all spin independently. [music] Uh, there's like a plastic wheel cover on there, so there's not like a molded [music] rubber wheel or anything like that. It's just a a plastic thing that goes around the wheel. I'm going to push these buttons right here. Out come our fins. And there we [music] go. Now we've got our flying foot cruiser mode, which looks [music] absolutely phenomenal. I I think they did an awesome job on these things. Uh they got the the little running boards here, what looks like foot pegs. Just keep in mind the original figures, it's not going to fit on there. Those uh little posts are too [music] big to throw somebody on there. So, if you're thinking about throwing somebody, having them hang off the side [music] of the vehicle, that's not going to work for you. Unfortunately, that's the only little minor critique here. I wish [music] wish that was just filed down just a little bit so you could fit your figures on there and have, you know, like a foot foot soldier hanging off the door and everybody going going around. But here we are. It looks great. Like I said, Amazon exclusive, but you know, the [music] way these things go, typically 6 months down the line, you'll start seeing these pop up. I also love that we even have [music] the tinted windscreen. I mean, that looks great. Steering wheel rotates, albeit it [music] doesn't turn the wheels or anything, but if you want to throw it back into normal car driving mode, just push those down, fold your wheels back out,