Offered here is a highly unusual and historically significant prototype of Shogun Splinter from Playmates’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line—specifically an engineering pilot figure, used during the later stages of pre-production to test articulation, fit, and final assembly.

This prototype features the infamous blue floral-patterned smock (or frock), a deco variant that never made it to mass production but can be seen in early Toy Fair catalog photography and select European cardback images. The figure itself is production-ready in form, but this garment marks it as a true behind-the-scenes anomaly.

Key Features:
    •    Engineering pilot figure, fully assembled and used to test production tolerances and final design prior to wide release
    •    Wears floral blue-patterned smock—a soft goods piece that was planned but ultimately unreleased at retail
    •    This smock variant is only known to appear in Toy Fair promotional materials and European packaging photography, but was replaced with a different version in final release
    •    A rare example of a character variant that bridges internal development with public-facing marketing, yet never saw store shelves in this form

Prototype pieces with unreleased deco variations like this are seldom seen and highly desirable, especially when they are tied to early promotional imagery. A unique opportunity to own a tangible piece of TMNT production history—one that reflects the iterative and often unseen process behind the toy line’s global legacy.