"Raphael is cool but crude (Gimme a break!) Michelangelo is a party dude (Party!)"

After our last LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles review we received some really great emails about the comic style review that we created. So when we came to review this new TMNT movie kit i planned on making a sequel, but as i went rooting through our LEGO looking for props i may need i had a great idea for something a little different that may or may not have worked, either way though i knew it would be fun. So the night before building i set our morning LEGO fun up. We had some spare boxes in the house and i wrapped them all in white paper and created a little blank canvas area for building. When Opeie woke up he found an intriguing blank space, the new LEGO Turtle Van Takedown kit (79115) and a selection of pens, pencils and crayons. Opeie looked very excited and quickly grabbed his Michelangelo mask and Nunchucks ready for action.

We've really got in to the TMNT kits since reviewing the Turtle Sub Undersea Chase kit and my inner geek was really excited about seeing the new kits, mainly because i had seen the Turtles new look for the coming movie and i wanted to see what LEGO had done with that. I expected them to look a little more aggressive but LEGO have done what they do best and the minifigures look amazing, Personally I'm a little unsure about the positioning of the shells but i can see they have done that to fit in with the movie style.

Opeie wasn't sure about the Minifigures at first and asked for the older characters out too but soon decided that he loved them. There was a little disagreement over who was the real Michelangelo but that arguement was soon sorted...

Usual household building rules apply, we never go by the numbered bags, we just empty them all out so that the boys can build the minifigures first because apparently they are the most important part.

This kit is the smaller of the three released for the new movie but at 368 pieces it's a great size kit especially for the younger builders who may lose interest after a while. With four minifigures (Raphael, Michelangelo, Vern and a Foot soldier) , a vehicle, barricade to blow up and a bed with mechanical arms for taking a hostage, there is everything you need for your very own Turtle adventure.

When we had finished building the kit it was time for us to start the second part of the mornings LEGO activity, Creating a play area for our Turtles. Opeie got stuck in and drew some great circular patterns so I politely ask if I could add to it and transformed his lovely drawing in to the very fitting Technodrome.

After decorating the walls with a sewer scene and a pizza shop it was time to play. The turtle van looked great with rockets to shoot and a retractable hook for pulling down buildings. We even drew a lake for our previous kit the Turtle sub to go in too.

We included all our Ninja turtles kits but realised we were missing a few key characters so we now have our eyes on the other two kits from the movie sets, Big Rig Snow Getaway (79116 so that we can get April O'Neil) and the awesome looking Turtle Lair Invasion (79117 because we need to get hold of a splinter). I did manage to build us a custom Shredder from the parts we had though (not a bad job if i do say so myself).

 I love how all our LEGO kits fit together and there really is no limitation to your play adventures if you have a great imagination. We ended up playing in our purpose built TMNT play area for most of the morning, Opeie comes up with some great stories to act out.

 

Of course as always me and Mrs M found ourselves in the usual hostage situation with no way of knowing if we would make it through the terrible ordeal...

...but we can always rely on those brave boys of ours (with the help of the Turtles of course) to come to our rescue and save the day.

I'd be shocked if i ever had a negative word to say about LEGO and again the Turtle Van Takedown doesn't disappoint. Its a great kit with excellent minifigures and a cult status that will entertain children and parents alike. The Ninja turtles were huge when i was at school and thanks to LEGO they will live on for even longer in the toy stores.