I hadn’t planned on posting Tyler Skate Machine until I made the mistake of digging into it a little. It turns out the Skate Machine, a toy from Sungold meant to be used with their Galaxy Warriors line of toys is pretty much a ripoff of the Cheapskate from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes sense since the Galaxy Warriors were set up to be an off-brand version of Masters of the Universe in the first place.
– Thanks to Bobcat for the tip.
First up, the Cheapskate from the TMNT, with a copyright date of 1988.
This is the Skate Machine from Sungold Toys. It essentially the same form factor as the Cheapskate, but it’s got a little controller for making noise and going forward or reverse. Somehow this cheap-ass copy of a toy meant for copies of another toy starts at $200 online these days, more than twice what you might pay for the Cheapskate.
Here’s a wacky review of the Skate Machine from Bootleg Zones, and a guy named Phelous, who is quite the character.
Jumping to 1991, here’s the TMNT Cheapskate II, somehow fetching more than the Cheapskate, with prices actually closer to the Skate Machine. Some pics of this version show the spring-loaded foot extended. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be for stopping or an attack.
Finally, 2021 saw the release of this TMNT “Construction Set Cheapskate with Ralph,” a nickelodeon tie-in that has two different versions of packaging for some reason. Plastic blocking bricks, compatible with “other sets…”
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