Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Lego theme based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 2012–2014.
From 2012 to 2014, Lego produced a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme, drawing on characters originally created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The line covered both the 2012 Nickelodeon animated series and the 2014 Michael Bay film.
The sets followed the turtles as they left their sewer home for the first time, using their ninjutsu training to fight enemies in modern-day New York City. A life-sized Lego model of Shredder was displayed at San Diego Comic-Con. The line aimed to recreate the main characters—Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello—in Lego form.
The theme was inspired by the 2012 TV series and developed jointly by The Lego Group and Nickelodeon. It launched at New York Comic Con in 2012, with the first wave of sets based on that series. Each set included vehicles, lairs, or combat robots, along with minifigures of the four turtles.
The four turtles were each distinct. Leonardo (Leo) wears a blue mask and wields two swords called Niten Ryu, leading the team’s missions. Donatello (Donnie) wears a purple mask, uses a bō that can convert to a naginata, and handles tool and weapon design as well as hacking. Raphael (Raph) wears a red mask, fights with two sai, and often channels his anger at Michelangelo or Leonardo. Michelangelo (Mikey) wears an orange mask, uses nunchaku that can convert to kusarigama, and loves video games, skateboarding, pranks, and pizza.
According to BrickLink, Lego released 23 sets and promotional polybags in total. The first wave (December 2012) included six sets: Kraang Lab Escape, Shredder’s Dragon Bike, Stealth Shell in Pursuit, Turtle Lair Attack, The Shellraiser Street Chase, and Baxter Robot Rampage. Two polybags—Kraang’s Turtle Target Practice and Mikey’s Mini-Shellraiser—were promotions. Exclusive minifigures of Shadow Leonardo and Kraang were given away at New York Comic Con and the Rockefeller Lego store.
The second wave (April 2014) included eight sets: Karai Bike Escape, Mutation Chamber Unleashed, T-Rawket Sky Strike, Turtle Sub Undersea Chase, and Shredder’s Lair Rescue, plus a Turtle Lair set under the Lego Juniors sub-brand. A Flashback Shredder polybag was also released, along with five key chains of Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Splinter.
Later in 2014 (July), three sets based on the 2014 film arrived: Turtle Van Takedown, Big Rig Snow Getaway, and Turtle Lair Invasion.
- Introduced
- 2012
- Discontinued
- 2014
- Total sets
- 23
- Target age
- 5 to 14
- Based on
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series) and 2014 film
Lore & Background
The product line focuses on the turtles emerging from their sewer home for the first time, using ninjutsu to fight enemies in present-day New York City. The theme aimed to recreate main characters Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, and Donatello in Lego form. Development was inspired by the 2012 TV series and done in collaboration with The Lego Group and Nickelodeon. The theme launched at New York Comic Con in 2012. The first wave of six sets was released on 20 December 2012, including Kraang Lab Escape and The Shellraiser Street Chase. Two polybag sets and exclusive minifigures were also released. In 2014, a second wave of eight sets was released on 2 April 2014, plus a Lego Juniors set and a polybag. Later that year, three sets based on the 2014 film were released on 8 July 2014. The theme was discontinued by the end of 2014, and Mega Bloks later received the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles license for brick-based construction sets.
Reader's Guide
Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles represents a brief but notable crossover between two major pop-culture franchises: the long-running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property and the Lego construction toy system. The theme's significance lies in its attempt to capture the action and characters of the 2012 animated series and the 2014 live-action film in Lego form, appealing to children aged 5 to 14. The line included 23 sets, vehicles, lairs, and minifigures of the four turtles and their enemies. Its legacy is marked by its relatively short lifespan—only three years—and the subsequent transfer of the TMNT brick license to Mega Bloks. The theme also produced eight web shorts on YouTube. While not as enduring as other Lego themes, it remains a collectible for fans of both Lego and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, particularly for the exclusive minifigures and the life-sized Shredder model displayed at San Diego Comic-Con.
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