Wrapping Up 2024: Metal-Boto from Turtles of Grayskull by Mattel

 

   Today I'm checking out the Build-a-Figure from the Turtles of Grayskull toyline: Metal-Boto! Metal-Boto is a hybrid of Robot from Masters of the Universe and Metal-Head from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the figure absolutely does feature elements of both characters. It's been a little over a year since I found and reviewed Mouse-Jaw, the first figure in the series to come with BAF pieces for Metal-Boto, and the other three figures were scattered throughout the year, with 2-Bopsteady coming out near the end of 2024. Ready to check out this upgraded version of Robot and Metal-Head, straight from Donatello's lab? Can you believe I've written another review with a video supplement? Then join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 6 1/8ths inches 

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, waist swivel, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, swivel head, and a hinged jaw.

Accessories: Chest plate, 2 standard hands, 2 wrist adaptors, shell, laser hand, axe hand, claw hand, extended hand, radar dish, and drill hand. 

Non-Scalper Price: N/A. Build-a-Figure. Parts included with Mouse-Jaw, 2-Bopsteady, Sla'ker, and Splinter-Skull. 

The Positives:

* Metal-Boto definitely favors Metal-Head more than Roboto, though there are elements of both. The silver and green color scheme with bits of gold definitely seems to favor Metal-Head the most, particularly the vintage design from the original Playmates toyline. His green chest that mimics a turtle's plastron is removable, something I didn't realize until I was actually in the middle of photographing the figure. The body seems to be completely unique as I don't recognize any pieces from any other MOTU Origins or Turtles of Grayskull figures. 

* Metal-Boto's legs are cool, especially those turtle-like mechanical feet. 

* Metal-Boto's head definitely looks more like Metalhead's except for the large red jaw, which is a feature of Roboto. The head only rotates (it's not on a balljoint or anything), but that's so the action feature can work. And, yes, Metal-Boto has an action feature. His jaw moves up and down, revealing his mouth, just like the vintage Roboto.

* When you rotate Metal-Boto's waist, his jaw rotates up and down. Oh, and you can see the gears that make that happen, too! Just pop off his chest panel and you can see his innerworkings, just like the vintage Roboto figure. Very fun stuff! No heart, though. Wouldn't it have been kind of cool if Roboto had a slice of pizza inside as one of the gears? 

* Metal-Boto is covered with little panels and such that show off the different areas where Donatello has crammed in various goodies and such. He also has a sculpted shell-like design on his back. 

* If you want the full Metalhead look, you can put this larger gold shell on Metal-Boto's back. It plugs into the two ports on the figure's back and can serve as a storage spot for all of the different accessories that can be plugged into Metal-Boto's wrists.

* Like most other shells in Turtles of Grayskull, Metal-Boto's can be swapped around with other figures and used as a shield. Add some of his crazy armaments to it and you've got a really wacky weapon for this digital dude.

* Metal-Boto's construction is similar to most other Masters of the Universe Origins figures, though his robotic body is completely unique. Overall he's fun to move and pose, though the retro aesthetic does limit does limit some articulation. Imagine a vintage MOTU or TMNT toy with most modern joints but vintage proportions and you'll have a pretty good idea about what you're in for. I have a few complaints, but I'll get to them in a minute.

* Since the accessories use larger pegs (think the weapons for Origins Trap Jaw or Roboto), to help ensure that the accessories fit on Metal-Bot's arms Mattel included two adaptor pieces. Not only do these work here but they seem like they'd work with most other figures, too. 

* Six attachable weapons and gadgets are included with Metal-Boto. First up is the double barreled laser blaster from Robot. It's the same as the Origins accessories, but it looks quite nice in this metallic blue.

* If you've read any of my other Roboto reviews, you'll know that I'm crazy about this axe. Seriously, this thing is so flipping cool. I love the shape of the blades, the design; it's just incredible!

* The claw has also always been one of Roboto's old standbys, so it's present here, too. 

* Now let's check out some of the Metalhead tools, which are new since Mattel hasn't made TMNT figures before. First up is this drill, which is pretty serious looking and ought to make Mo-Larr the Eternian Dentist jealous. I think Metalhead used this in the original animated series some.

* Next up is... a longer hand? Yeah, that's what it looks like. A longer forearm with a hand that's less robotic and somewhat more turtle-like? I'm not quite sure where this one comes from, but it is a neat looking extended hand. Maybe for grabbing the noses of any bad guys?

* Last up is a radar dish. This is something the vintage Metalhead came with, though I think it attached to his backpack, right? This one could fit on his hands, sure, but you can plug it in any of the multiple free slots he has available, too.

* Here's a shot of Metal-Boto all geared up with all of his extras. Wow! That's crazy! With ports on his forearms, shoulders, and his shell, there's plenty of places to store his weapons, or equip him with them in weird and wonderful ways. 

The Negatives:

* I actually have a really disappointing negative here: Some of the tabs in the socket of Metal-Boto's arm snapped off. Since all of the MOTU Origins and Turtles of Grayskull figures feature swappable body parts, I was snapping off Metal-Boto's arm, too, and these parts fell out. It still feels like it's meant to be swapped, and it stays on OK (just a bit wobbly), but I wonder if the plastic used here is just different from the plastic used on most other figures?

* Second, the arms have a really poo range of motion. I know these figures aren't super articulated or anything, but having such a limited elbow range is just a bummer. 

   Man, if Metal-Boto hadn't had a broken arm socket (though, to be fair, it's broke in many of these pictures, and is only a bit loose and wiggly) this guy was cruisin' for top marks. As it stands, as a build-a-figure, he's still pretty good. Maybe mine's a fluke? Even with a wobbly arm, Metal-Boto is still a pretty cool guy and a Great figure. He's insanely well designed overall and has a ton of stuff with him. Give him more weapons from other figures, use the wrist adaptors to give other figures hand weapons; there's plenty of options! This is a cool blend of two characters and Mattel did pretty well with it. 




Looking for more of Metalhead? This is actually the first version of the guy I've reviewed.

If you're looking for more of Roboto I've also reviewed the MOTU Origins Roboto and Roboto (minicomic colors), the M.U.S.C.L.E. Roboto from Series 3 Pack B, the Mega Construx Roboto and the Roboto included with the Land Shark, the Super7 Filmation inspired Roboto, the POP! Roboto #81, the Vinyl Soda Roboto, and the 200x Roboto head from the MOTUC Heads of Eternia set.

For more Turtles of Grayskull reviews, check out the following:

2-Bopsteady

Beast Man

Krang

Moss Man

Mouse-Jaw

Ram Man
Raphael
Shredder

Sla'ker