The chunk of change I need to stash away for the TMNT LEGO sets next year keeps getting bigger. All the sets in the first wave have officially been revealed now, and they’re pretty great. If you’re like me, you appreciate the smaller, cheaper LEGO kits when they’re done right. Sets like Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown and the Superman/Power Armor Lex come to mind.

Well, most of the stuff from the new LEGO TMNT line we’ve seen so far has looked pricey, so it’s a relief to see sets like Kraang Lab Escape and Baxter Robot Rampage. They look like a lot of fun, and they come with some sweet minifigs. From Bricks to Bothans has a roundup of all the sets, but these two might be my favorites.
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I love Instagram. I’ve been using it since the day it launched, and I’ve met all kinds of cool people. The thing I do on there most often is browse the #TMNT tag, and when I was gearing up to launch the TMNT Photo Contest, I ‘invited’ some Instagramers to send me their entries.

That’s when I first saw Jamie Painter’s custom Movie Star Turtles. Jaime is a photographer and artist, and she not only repainted the Turtles, but she made custom weapons and belts out of real leather, wood, and chains. The final product looks amazing, but you can see for yourself.
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After much delay, the results are in! Chris and I have picked the winners of our TMNT Photo Contest and it was no easy task. All the entries were amazing, and it was so hard to pick that we extended the number of winners to four!

I want to thank everyone for entering, and you can count on there being many more contests like this in the future. After the jump, check out the winning photos as well as a gallery of all the entries.

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Last year I came across a post on Strange Kids Club about some TMNT art by an artist named Christopher Lee. I quickly reposted his work here and ordered some prints. Fast forward one year and I have more than eighteen square feet of wall space with Chris’s work, including prints of his TMNT, Star Wars, and Ghostbusters art.

You’ve probably seen Chris’s work even if you haven’t read about him online. Chris is an independent designer and illustrator and his client list includes Target, Disney, and Hasbro. If you’ve seen the cool 3D Adventure Book gift card at Target, you’ve seen Chris’s art.

Along with his girlfriend he runs the shop The Birds & the Beasts, and also happens to have a truly amazing collection of 80s and 90s toys.

After a year of buying his art, blogging about it, and stalking following him on Instagram, I thought it would be fun to interview him for the site. So, read on to learn more about Chris’s work, influences, and his amazing toy collection.

Special thanks to Tim and Rob for contributing some of the questions!

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Metalhead. He was one of my favorite TMNT toys when I was a kid, I don’t even remember him from the cartoon, and I was insanely pumped when I heard they were using him in the new Nickelodeon cartoon. Unlike Nick’s rebooted versions of Rat King and Leatherhead, Metalhead looked to be a more direct homage to the 80s toys. After a couple weeks of searching the toy aisles looking for him I finally found him, along with Dogpound and Fishface.

I love this guy.

The 2012 version of Metalhead is divisive among TMNT fans. Some, like me, love it, and others seem to think he’s too simple and boxy. I think he fits in great with the style of the new show and is a damn cool action figure.

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