Here we have Party Wallop in the Turtle Van mode. While most of the collabs tend to use licensed vehicle modes, such as the DeLorean or KITT, this is straight out of the old cartoon. As such, it has that bright-colored and chunky aesthetic that screams "toyetic" in contrast to the gritty tone of the Mirage Comics. It might contrast the real-world vehicles, but having the non-live-action figures of Ultimate X-Spanse (X-Men) and Kurama (Naruto), this won't look too out of place (the same can't be said for the collabs repainted from G1 toys). There isn't much in terms of deco beyond the windows and some of the vehicle livery, but at least the rims are silver AND pinned, making this chunky Turtle Van great to roll around. There isn't much in terms of play features other than the Blast Effect compatibility on the cannons. The only issues I have beyond the obvious hinges would be the slight color mismatch for the yellow part behind the square tile section as well as the removable spoiler.
There is a bit of weapon storage underneath for the katanas and scythes. We'll get into the storage for the other accessories later down the review.
For a vehicle mode size comparison, here is Party Wallop next to a standard Deluxe of the current era, Gen Selects Tigertrack. PW's size makes him more comparable to a Voyager toy you'd find from the 2000s if you think about how hefty the design comes across as, maybe rivaling Classics Optimus Prime or Animated Wreck-Gar.
Transformation is appropriately shellformery, given the whole turtle theme. Cliche joke aside, it mostly consists of the side vehicle parts remaining on the limbs while the entire roof is the backpack (or turtle shell given the pattern). It isn't annoying to transform, but it does harken back to Legacy Evolution Trashmaster. The resulting robot mode also reminds me of what Energon Optimus would look like with extra kibble hanging off of him. On one hand, Party Wallop at least fits the somewhat stocky nature of the Ninja Turtles, though the kibble hanging off of the shoulders forearms, and hips make him look more like a samurai, ironic given them being nothing like ninjas. The turtle shell is at least flat enough to not make the robot mode any chunkier than it already is. One design aspect I don't like about said backpack would be how it doesn't stay in place that well while the flap behind the head distracts from the design somewhat (on top of meaning that the cannons won't be usable here). I do like that the robot design at least captures the Ninja Turtles' appearances, and the backpack does match their shells in terms of detailing. Some parts of the figure are a bit hollow but nothing too severe as I've seen on other figures. Also take note of those nunchucks within the shoulder pads.
The head sculpt represents a robo version of the toothy scowl signature of the Ninja Turtles brand, mostly seen in the action figures. As for why there is no bandana present, take note of those seams around the eyes. Articulation is accessible in spite of the chunk and kibble, with a ball joint for the neck, rotation for the shoulders and hips (front and back), biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs; meanwhile, hinges are used for outward shoulder and leg movement, the elbows, the knees, and ankles.
The front side of the altmode can be removed and pegged on the forearms as a shield, allowing you to display a more refined torso with a belt buckle a la the Turtle designs. The green lid on the front of the altmode can be removed to reveal a personal pan pizza, which makes me think of how the pie would be used as launching gimmicks for many TMNT toys.
What makes Party Wallop cool, however, is the shell revealing different skull caps that allow you to pull off a display gimmick similar to the Zeo Megazord, where the brothers' respective bandana colors can be used in association with their respective weapons as well as a color-matching belt buckle letter. Blue, L, and twin katanas = Leonardo, purple, D, and bo staff = Donatello, red, R, and twin said = Raphael, orange, M, and nunchucks = Michelangelo. If you want, you can give Party Wallop the red bandana, leave the belt buckle blank, and add any of the weapons for a Mirage Comics look. They could have easily had one of the bandanas be all you get, or mesh them all into a single color, but this is a great way to have each of the turtles represented without having to buy multiple copies. The weapons are generally neat, though I kind of wish the chains were made of die-cast or if the bo staff looked less like a lead pipe Donny would use on Shredder's child (if he was like the nerd emoji).
For a size comparison, he towers over current Voyagers like Ratchet from the Studio Series Gamer Edition line. Some Voyagers made in the modern line can be taller than him, though he may be denser in plastic material by comparison. And that leaves me with the final verdict: I feel he may be worth the $50 price tag most stores are selling him at, though there are a few sites that have him on discount. Even without the discount, this feels like the most worthwhile collab out of the set thanks to the mashup feeling less like a transforming version of a pop culture vehicle and more like genuine crossover that Hasbro and Mirage Studios are sleeping on. While the kibble and proportions may not be everyone's cup of tea, the play features more than make up for the shortcomings, and I also love how you're free to display the robot mode as any of the four turtles. While Transformers are normally seen as two toys in one (3 if you count the puzzle aspect), the optional parts make this feel more like 6 toys in one!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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