40 replies to this topic

[grimerslimer]

So, with the prospect of the boards merging I thought it would be nice to learn a little about the other guys... MUSCLES. So here are some questions:

1- How many are there?

2- How many colors are there?

3- Do all of them come in all the colors?

4- Is there a price guide/ checklist format for all of them?

6- Are they as obscure as Battle Beasts... more or less popular/known?

7- Was/is there a cartoon associated with them?

8- Do they burn easily?

Thanks... that's all for now, though I'm sure others will have questions, as will I later...

grimey

[Soupie]

1- How many are there?

236 and 21 Super Rares.

2- How many colors are there?

10 colors: Pink, Salmon, Purple, Dark Blue, Light Blue, Red, Magenta, Orange, Green, and Light Purple.

3- Do all of them come in all the colors?

No.

4- Is there a price guide/ checklist format for all of them?

A collector by the name of Sirnate20 sells a self-created one on eBay. I run the MCIA which (thanks to the work of URS) uses the information from the MDB to determine which figures are common, uncommon, and rare.

I think Jkaris has a collecting checklist. There is also a poster available that doubles as a checklist.

6- Are they as obscure as Battle Beasts... more or less popular/known?

I would say they are not as obscure, but I'm not sure.

7- Was/is there a cartoon associated with them?

Yes, one in Japan and one in the US.

8- Do they burn easily?

I'm not sure, but probably. I know they don't like fireworks.

[grimerslimer]

I'm not sure, but probably. I know they don't like fireworks.

Thanks Soupie! That fireworks thing was great!

Can someone post a link to the Claw super-hero's someone did? Those were so kewl!!!

grimey

[jkaris]

So, with the prospect of the boards merging I thought it would be nice to learn a little about the other guys... MUSCLES. So here are some questions:

1- How many are there?

236 regular figures (Satan Cross is included in this count, since he isn't actually rare)
20 Super Rare Sculpts found. (19 sculpts, 1 in 2 different colors)
http://www.littlerub...?showtopic=2420

2- How many colors are there?
10.
Flesh, and then Dark Purple, Red, Blue, Neon Green, Neon Orange, Magenta, Light Blue, Salmon and light purple.

3- Do all of them come in all the colors?
Flesh, yes.
Colors, no. And to date, there hasn't been one figure found (or theorized) in all colors.

4- Is there a price guide/ checklist format for all of them?
No, and there really can't be. Singles (1-235) go for .50-$1 each. There are times when some of the more popular figures hve gone for more, but not anything regular. #236 Satan Cross ranges from $40-$100 depending on eBay, but an good price for him is $50. He's not rare at all, just popular.
The SR figures now go for anywhere from $500 to $1500 each. There are mostly one 1 of each figure known to exist, but the SHA and BHS have multiples.

6- Are they as obscure as Battle Beasts... more or less popular/known?
About the same. Throw a BB or MUSCLE in front of anyone who grew up in the 80's and they will recognize both with a smile!

7- Was/is there a cartoon associated with them?
MUSCLEs? No.
In Japan, Kinnikuman (where the MUSCLEline was licensed from) was as big as GI Joe is here and had everything from the cartoon, to comics, to shampo bottles and noodle bowls.
A few years back, they brought over the Kinnikuman Nisei (2nd Gen) cartoon here and called it Ultimate Muscle.
But no, nothing for the original MUSCLE line.

8- Do they burn easily?
As easily as any other hard rubber toy.

[matthewf1tz]

the thing about MUSCLE is that it is just one very small part of a line that sits under the "Kinnikuman umbrella".

Small, non-articulated/semi-articulated, single colour figures are my main interest but there is something in the Kinnikuman line for everyone.

While there are only 236 or so MUSCLE's, the Kinnikuman line has all those same little figures plus somewhere in the region of 200 more little figures that weren't released outside of Japan.

Then there is the rest of the figures (large/small/tiny, articulated/non-articulated, painted/unpainted etc etc), comics, cartoons and merchandise that were released in the eighties, nineties and even now.

Nathan's site shows some collector's collections and these two are a good example that show just a small sample of what is out there:

MIWP's collection

Alexander McIntosh's collection

[jkaris]

I agree,

If you are looking for a new series to collect, Kinnikuman is AWESOME!
Plus, the line is damn near never ending. Like GI Joe or Transformers.

[Soupie]

7- Was/is there a cartoon associated with them?
MUSCLEs? No.
In Japan, Kinnikuman (where the MUSCLEline was licensed from) was as big as GI Joe is here and had everything from the cartoon, to comics, to shampo bottles and noodle bowls.
A few years back, they brought over the Kinnikuman Nisei (2nd Gen) cartoon here and called it Ultimate Muscle.
But no, nothing for the original MUSCLE line.

Jkaris, I know you're bursting at the seams with MUSCLE knowledge, but let's not overwhelm the man.

Technically, no, there is no "MUSCLE" cartoon, but there are two cartoons in which all the MUSCLE figures are featured. I'd consider that an "association."

[grimerslimer]

Wow! Thanks for the info... that reminded me of another question regarding Kinnikuman:

So the association between kinnikuman and muscles is like beastformers to battle beasts (on a slightly larger scale of course) like how many of the Lasers were only released in Japan?

That is a TON of figures... 236 muscles+ 19 SR + ~200 kinnikuman? So a total of 455 figs? That doesn't include all the color variations either.... WOW.

Anyway... my actual question was, are all the kinnikuman available in flesh, as well as several color variations?



I did notice that the Claw, (by far my favorite muscle) is available in almost all the colors according to Soupie's color guide...

grimey

[Universal Ruler Supreme]

Anyway... my actual question was, are all the kinnikuman available in flesh, as well as several color variations?

That's the bonus about kinnikuman figs. Every figure comes in Flesh, Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. Then there are special colors like Black, Clear glitter (Green, blue) Litterally 1000's of figures to collect! This hobby could last you many years.


You know if we can talk all the rich guys over here to start collecting Muscles, maybe their competitive spirit will jack up the prices on eBay, then we can all cash out on our collections! :w00t: J/K

Hey Jon, why do these two guys show up on the Smilies list more than once?

And what's up with this one? :jlb:
Wink Wink! LOL! I love Emoticons...... But it sure would be nice if I could post more than 5 at a time.

[grimerslimer]

Anyway... my actual question was, are all the kinnikuman available in flesh, as well as several color variations?

That's the bonus about kinnikuman figs. Every figure comes in Flesh, Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. Then there are special colors like Black, Clear glitter (Green, blue) Litterally 1000's of figures to collect! This hobby could last you many years.

So roughly 200 kinnikuman available in ALL 5 colors? About 1000 there, plus the other three you mentioned (whick it sounded like not all the figs are available in them from your post... I could be wrong though), could be up to another 600... and that's just the kinnikuman side.

Then the muscles... 236 available in up to 10, (well more like 6-8 from what I gather) colors...

That is one line that makes BB/LB seem quite....errr... finite.

Wink Wink! LOL! I love Emoticons...... But it sure would be nice if I could post more than 5 at a time.

Couldn't agree more..... plus we still need some funner ones, like these:



grimey

[jkaris]

No, there are over 400+ Kinnikuman sculpt in the regular issue size. And each of those comes in flesh, red, yellow, blue and green. So technically speaking, you'd have well over 4000 to collect.

[matthewf1tz]

I did notice that the Claw, (by far my favorite muscle) is available in almost all the colors according to Soupie's color guide...

grimey

not forgetting the 90's re-issue figures that were in a harder rubber than the kinnikuman kinkeshi but a softer rubber than MUSCLE!!!!

oh, and the painted ones....

And the Ultimate Muscle figures that came out in the 2000's....

I have the claw in green in all three plastics which is quite cool as the shade is slightly different on each, I'll post a pic at some point....

another interesting point is that bar the 'Supe-Rares' all the MUSCLE sculpts are one-piece figures whereas kinnikuman kinkeshi have figures such as King 100 ton, various Satan Cross', Spinning Head Ashuraman and Black Hole Sunshine (plus others) with detatchable pieces.

There are also 2-piece 'posed' figure sets where the figures are in some sort of wrestling pose.

And not forgetting the Super-Deformed figures - just like the Battle Beasts!!!!

now I remember why I love this line so much.....

[trumanshower]

don't forget also the Exogini and cosmix !!!

[grimerslimer]

It is safe to say that this is one line I won't be getting too in to... I'd never feel that there was an obtainable "end" to the collection to at least shoot for! That is incredible, I am more impressed than I thought I would be...

grimey

[Universal Ruler Supreme]

It is safe to say that this is one line I won't be getting too in to... I'd never feel that there was an obtainable "end" to the collection to at least shoot for! That is incredible, I am more impressed than I thought I would be...

grimey

Nah! It's not that bad. Alot of individuals don't even collect anything else aside from the basic Kinnikuman Kinkeshi line, and usually only the 5 initial colors. It's easier to collect than it seems. I mean a large portion of the auctions on Yahoo Japan are big lots of figures of say 100 and sometimes up to a few 1000 per lot. Then if your picky there are always single auctions, which I feel are a waste of time. Also the first like 20 parts of the line are quite easy to obtain. And if you buy in big lots, it's cheaper on shipping, and there is the hidden chance of getting rare or expensive figures. Here's Naochin's site. He's probably one of the most recognized Japanese collectors. His collection is pretty darn awesome! You can try to navigate it to see each and every figure from the regular series lines.

http://ulala69.hp.in...lectiontop.html

[Soupie]

That is a TON of figures... 236 muscles+ 19 SR

There's definitely 20 Super Rares. Sure, it's one sculpt found in Pink and Blue, but you have to keep in mind, there is only ONE of each known to exist.

For instance, Satan Cross is common in Pink -- there are literally hundreds of Pink SCs out there. However, no one has ever seen a Blue Satan Cross.

If someone were to ever find a Blue Satan Cross, I would consider it a new rare figure.

I wouldn't say there were 20 Super Rare figures and a Blue Satan Cross. I'd say there were 21 Super Rare figures.

Not a big deal, but worth pointing out.

[matthewf1tz]

I have the claw in green in all three plastics which is quite cool as the shade is slightly different on each, I'll post a pic at some point....

here's that claw in all three greens:



from left to right:

1. Original 1980's Japanese kinnikuman kinkeshi, dark green, soft rubber
2. Re-issue 1990's Japanese kinnikuman kinkeshi, lighter green, soft plastic
3. 1980's US/UK (and others) MUSCLE figure, harder plastic, neon green

the claw was not included in Exogini/Cosmix or we would have seen a clear green green too

Edited by matthewf1tz, 12 November 2006 - 09:00 AM.

[AbLivAspade]

hey soupie, on your list of rare-non-muscle scuplts or whatever, whats the deal with this guy?



i have this guy in like a gumball type material. no markings on the back. is that the same thing?

[arforbes]

hey soupie, on your list of rare-non-muscle scuplts or whatever, whats the deal with this guy?



i have this guy in like a gumball type material. no markings on the back. is that the same thing?

That would be a bootleg, most likely found in a gumball machine back in the day.

[AbLivAspade]

That would be a bootleg, most likely found in a gumball machine back in the day.

i was hoping maybe they were rare like gumball beasts ive been secretly banking on selling it to feed myself for a month

[Universal Ruler Supreme]

Na, the bootleg muscles are only worth about as much as a regular figure, and sometimes less. They are super common.

[matthewf1tz]

i was hoping maybe they were rare like gumball beasts    ive been secretly banking on selling it to feed myself for a month

only a month!? if you had the MUSCLE plastic version of this figure they were worth about $900 each!!!



unfortunately I don't

[grimerslimer]

$900?

These are SWEET!!! What are these worth anyhow? I'd love to get them...


Cool Claws Matt!

grimey

[Omega]

Was there a little wrestling ring released for these figures or am I thinking of a different toy line?



Mark