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LittleRubberGuys Hall Of Fame


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#1 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 09:27 AM

"Some are born Legend, some achieve Legend, and some have Legend thrust upon them."

In the short history of our small online community of M.U.S.C.L.E. Heads, Kinniku-freaks and Beastformers enthusiasts alike, there are those who have made a huge difference, by their effort and contributions to our genre. They are well known for their works and deeds, and you will always find them mentioned with high respect and reverence, when their names are brought up in conversation. It is only right that we honor them here also, in this archive set in silicone.

Not anyone can be a legend, but rather, it takes the seldom paralleled greatness, dedication, perseverance and selflessness, that has been shown by the people named below!

And so, we honor them, with their spot in this, LittleRubberGuys Hall of Fame!
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#2 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 09:35 AM

Darrin Vindiola (MUSCLETOYS)

Darrin is the founder of the Muscle Preservation Society, and to this day, he still keeps it going!
The M.P.S. was the internet's very first dedicated M.U.S.C.L.E. website, and quite possibly the first M.U.S.C.L.E. page period. It is from the effort of himself and Tim Drage, the online community sprang forth! From the original MPS newsletters (which can be found online at Nathan's MUSCLE Page) to the online petition to bring back MUSCLE. Darrin has proven time and time again, his dedication to the cause, and for that, Mr. Vindiola is a MUSCLE head to be revered among MUSCLE heads.

Here is the history of the MPS, as detailed by Darrin himself:

The History of The M.P.S.
by Darrin M. Vindiola Sr.

The M.U.S.C.L.E. Preservation Society was established in 1996. It was founded, and is still ran by myself, Darrin M. Vindiola Sr. It started out as a simple fan site, and has slowly evolved into what you see today. We're accredited with being The Internet's very first M.U.S.C.L.E. Web page.

It all started out in a toy collecting newsgroup.  I saw a post with a subject heading that read... "M.U.S.C.L.E. Anyone?" I quickly read it, and soon started corresponding with a nice guy from the U.K. named Tim Drage. We were both amazed at how many people remembered M.U.S.C.L.E. but yet, after both scouring the Internet, we couldn't even find one web-site dealing with them. I threatened to put a change to that, and Tim encouraged me, by supplying me with scans and images of M.U.S.C.L.E. figures. My web design and graphic skills were pitiful back then, but I quickly learned more and more (and am still learning) all thanks to this web-site. One of the most interesting things about all of this, is that 98% of what I know about the toyline M.U.S.C.L.E. was learned after I created this web-site!

"Darrin's M.U.S.C.L.E. Page" as it was called in the beginning, rapidly started to gain a large following that quite honestly shocked me. After a few months in early 1997, we adopted the name "The M.U.S.C.L.E. Preservation Society" My site was a hub for collectors to meet, trade, buy, chat and sell M.U.S.C.L.E, not to mention the sharing of information on the hobby. Soon I had M.U.S.C.L.E. fans from all over the world e-mailing me from such countries as...Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Japan, China, and many others! It was quite the phenomenon all right, and I was happy to be right in the middle of it.

One of our main goals we started pursuing in 1998, was to try and get the toyline re-released. We started an online petition to Mattel that fell on deaf ears even after several well thought out attempts at presenting it to them. But now in 2002, it looks as if we might get our wish in some form anyway. The M.U.S.C.L.E.'s cousins from Japan "Kinnikuman" are coming to the states in the form of a cartoon series, and the merchandising wave is sure to follow!

For almost two years, The M.U.S.C.L.E. Preservation Society fell by the wayside due to personal circumstances, and it was always something I had truly felt bad about. But now as of late, I've been able to put the time and effort into it that it needs/deserves. I'm happy to say that the hobby is still going strong, some six years later, and with "Kinnikuman the Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E." coming to the States soon, we just might see a new surge of collectors hop on the M.U.S.C.L.E. Bandwagon!

A lot of people say that I'm responsible for the way the hobby has taken off in recent years, but I don't believe that. There were a lot of hard core collectors with me in the beginning that put in endless hours of research into the hobby as well as their web-sites, and we were all more than happy to share the wealth of knowledge that we had gained over the years. M.U.S.C.L.E. is such a great toyline, it only would have been a matter of time before someone else started up a site based on them. In closing, I guess it does feel good knowing that I had a small hand in all of this. I can only hope that the hobby keeps thriving as it has been lately.


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#3 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 09:56 AM

Nathan Newell (Tortle)

When it comes to fan fiction in the M.U.S.C.L.E. community, no one can hold a candle to the Fox and Tortle show. Limited on episodes, but in no way lacking the laughs, Nate has created a franchise that M.U.S.C.L.E. heads worldwide have come to know and love!

But Fox and Tortle alone is not what makes Nate a legend in his own time! No, it is much more than that! Generally the first page that M.U.S.C.L.E. heads discover on the net in their renewed fervor for M.U.S.C.L.E.s, Nathan's M.U.S.C.L.E. Page is chock full of hilarious names, descriptions and world class graphic renditions of your favorite M.U.S.C.L.E.s of all time! When it comes to the nostalgia factor, Nathan's M.U.S.C.L.E. Page hits far off the scale. And that nostalgia, greatly helps to drive the sustaining addiction that is M.U.S.C.L.E.!

For all his time, effort and years spent entertaining the community, NaAthan is well known and well loved. Truly a "Legend" in his own time!
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#4 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 10:17 AM

AK of Troy

Think of how long it would take to scan in a 80-100 page comic book, edit the text out in photo shop, translate it from Japanese to english, re-type the pages in english, save them as an image file, and then zip an upload them for the uneducated masses. Now imagine doing this for over 10 Mangas! This is exactly what AK has done. His countless hours, translating the Kinnikuman Manga into english has been a huge assett to the M.U.S.C.L.E. community online.

AK has also been a great help when it comes to the information on Kinnikuman and Kinnikuman Nisei over at the A.K.I.A. main page. Thanks AK!

Ak of Troy, a living M.U.S.C.L.E. Legend!

See the fruits of his labor HERE!
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#5 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 10:27 AM

John Morey (Ridureyu)

When John Morey founded the A.K.I.A., the online M.U.S.C.L.E. Community knew very little, if anything about the Kinnikuman origins of the American line. So John set out to make the most comprehensive Kinnikuman information site for those without the understanding of the Japanese language! And thus the A.K.I.A. was born. With great help from Taka Kurosaka and AK of Troy, John Morey created what was, and is, the largest English language, Kinnikuman informational archive anywhere in the world!

John Morey, founder American Kinnikuman Information Archive
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#6 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 10:42 AM

Taka Kurosaka (Stinger Wolf)

The silent man behind the A.K.I.A. for so many years, Taka Kurosaka is responsible for the large majority of all the first generation Kinnikuman background information, that has come to educate you folks over the years. Content to sit in the shadows for so many years, Taka has stayed silent about his part in the A.K.I.A.

Taka Kurosaka - A humble and honorable man, who has helped so much with educating the masses about this wonderful thing called Kinnikuman
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#7 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 10:54 AM

Albertinoz

We knew about Kinnikuman. We knew about M.U.S.C.L.E. But what we didn't even have a clue about was Exogini!

What are Exogini? Well Albertinoz does a stand up job of letting us in on the secret of the Italian M.U.S.C.L.E. I'm talking about Italy's own version of Kinnikuman, with it's unique color schemes and awesome translucent figures!

Exogini are an awesome line all to themselves, and thanks to the man Albertinoz, you can find out all about them HERE!

Albertinoz - the God of all things Exogini!
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#8 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 11:09 AM

Mike Pollock (itsaMike)

"Hey Kid!"
You hear it every Saturday morning on the FoxBox. Mike is not only a valued member of the A.K.I.A. and online M.U.S.C.L.E. Community but also the voice of everyones favorite cryogenically preserved, diaper wearing, longitudinally challenged Kinnikuman character, Meat!

Becoming an instant legend because of his voice work, he has done much more than that. He has been the voice of the fans to 4Kids Entertainment, and who knows how much has been altered, due to his constantly going to bat for us!

He has also been the driving factor in petitioning 4-Kids to do us the honor of participating in the very first M.U.S.C.L.E. Convention, in July of 2003.

The online M.U.S.C.L.E. community owes him a graet deal of gratitude!

Mike Pollock - The Voice of Meat!
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#9 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 11:17 AM

Marc Thompson (kidmuscle1701)

He puts the man in Mantaro!

Marc Thompson is the voice actor for Kid Muscle, a.k.a. Kinniku-Mantaro every Saturday on the FoxBox! He is also the only other voice actor from the show, to do us the honor of making himself available to the fans here at the A.K.I.A.

A great actor, who has perfected the dual personalities of Mantaro, as close to the original as possible, he is also well revered for his rendition of the infamous Kid Muscle rice bowl song!

With my rice, I like to have some cow, cow, COW!
It tastes so very good, I don't know how, how HOW!
It's my favorite form of chow, chow, CHOW!
Owwoow ooowow oowow EAT NOW!


Marc Thomspon - Kid Muscle personified!
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#10 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 11:31 AM

Matthew (MUSCLECollector@AOL.Com)

Matt is the founder of the Kinnikuman eMail group, which was where the idea and support for this message board originated from. By utilizing the online group email service, then from eGroups, and currently Yahoo Groups, Matt created an easier and more effective way for M.U.S.C.L.E. Heads worldwide to communicate, trade and share ideas. So may important and entertaining discussions were held via the email group, it is a shame that they were never archived. It is a piece of MUSCLE Lore that has been lost forever to the new generations of MUSCLE heads.

Probably the best thing to happen to the online MUSCLE Heads (second only to the MPS), the eMail group further fostered our sense of Community and brotherhood, and was the key to the foundation of all coordinated M.U.S.C.L.E. ideas and sites, this board included.

If you haven't done so already, please sign up for the email group as well HERE!

Matthew - A true MUSCLE Head! To whom we owe much of our sense of community!
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#11 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 11:45 AM

Joe Gibbs (MUSCLE UK / Expecting Rain)

Vanished since December of 2001, Mr Joe Gibbs was the brightest light and strongest inspiration, in a period when MUSCLE heads were in a sort of limbo, if you will.

He created a tremendously popular website with loads of new ideas for MUSCLE Heads world wide, including the incredibly AWESOME, Micro Action Figures.

Joe's painting skills were at that time unparalelled in our group, and today still, there are very few who can compare to the quality of Joe Gibbs.

Not being one to keep his gifts to himself, he created uniquely detailed instruction pages, so that we might follow in his footsteps for years to come. They can be found HERE!

Currently there are a few members of our group, working to archive his pages before they are lost in internet limbo.

Joe Gibbs - Legendary!

We will always love and miss you Joe!

Update! - Mr. Gibbs has finally re-appeared! He is here on the board and his username is Expecting Rain. Welcome Back Joe! You were sorely missed!


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#12 jkaris

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Posted 01 May 2003 - 11:45 AM

These are your founding members of the M.U.S.C.L.E. Hall of fame!

These are some pretty big shoes to fill. All these folks have contributed IMMENSELY to the online MUSCLE/Kinnikuman community. To achieve "Legend" Status is a noteworthy honor, because it means that when you are long gone, people will still remember you and your hard work for the community.

A good example of this would be Mr. Joe Gibbs of MUSCLE UK, who has since Christmas of 2001, dropped of the face of the earth. But nonetheless, if he were here today, he would be a "Legend".

The biggest thing about being a "Legend", is that you won't have to ask.... it'll find you! When the community as a whole (including the email group) regards you as a hero, then you are a "Legend".
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#13 jkaris

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Posted 27 August 2003 - 09:55 AM

Jason Moore (Doc_Moore_J)

A charter member of the AKIA Board. Jason and his wife Tsubasa have worked relentlessly to bring us more in depth bios of the Kinnikuman characters we love.

His bios include not only the facts, but a bit of comedy lased with plenty of pictures!With over 40 character bios and counting, he has vowed to keep going until he has finished this labor of love.

Doc's notoriety isn't for his bios alone, but also for THIS thread here, which includes a very comical back shot of Doc in the buff! :cry:

Doc_Moore_J - Inducted August 26th 2003
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#14 jkaris

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Posted 27 August 2003 - 10:04 AM

Marty Hansen (THEGODBEAST)

Here less than a year and taking the M.U.S.C.L.E. community by storm is THEGODBEAST! One glance at his hand crafted custom works of art, and you'll know why!

They ROCK!

So far Marty has created repros of some of the most popular MUSCLE and Kinnikuman molds in very unique and awesome color schemes. His most famous by far would be the "crystal" Satan Cross figure, complete with back end.

Marty's molding process transfers the detail of the originals wthin 99.9999% accuracy, with no detectable loss of size or quality.

So if you are looking for a hard to find figure in a unique color, just call the GodBeast!

THEGODBEAST - Inducted August 26th 2003
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#15 jkaris

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Posted 23 July 2007 - 04:40 PM

With this next round of inductees, we have made a change to the format. Now, instead of the M.U.S.C.L.E. Hall of Fame, it will be known as the Little Rubber Guys Hall of Fame, to better represent the group we have evolved into.
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#16 jkaris

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Posted 23 July 2007 - 04:44 PM

Sylvain Heyser (Lord)

Lord has made multiple priceless contributions to the BattleBeasts/LaserBeasts over the years without asking for anything in return. Approximately 6 years ago Sylvain introduced himself and made a very generous offer to provide TheGodBeast with scans of the 3 GODBEAST sketches from his Laser Beast book (at the time, the only one in the hand of a networked collector). Over the years, Sylvain has contributed PRICELESS crucial information concerning French only Dragonautes(Beastformers) toys, French only Dragonautes photos, variation information/photos. He also single-handedly cracked the mystery/mis-information regarding what is now known as "Greek Beasts." In an effort make the rarest of the rare available to the collectors...Sylvain took a HUGE risk sending the only known COMPLETE set of 6 French exclusive Shield Battler shields across the Atlantic to TheGodBeast for reproduction! He allowed him to carefully remove the stickers (for scanning), mold the originals, and cast them so that other collectors would have an opportunity to complete their collection with a complete set of reproduction French shields. Once again, he asked for NOTHING in return. Sylvain has been the true "French-Connection" to this group, so it is with great honor for us to announce his official induction into the LittleRubberGuys Hall of Fame!

Lord - Inducted July 22nd, 2007
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#17 jkaris

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Posted 23 July 2007 - 04:48 PM

Steve Borders (sborders aka WhiteLeo)

Steve has not only made GINORMOUS contributions to this site with his translations (BB/LB cards, books, pamphlets, etc.), his customs (both figures & graphic art on stickers/cards/boxes), and his consistent moderation, but he has proven himself time and time again to be a GREAT FRIEND to all members here. With Steve's consistent commitment to both this site and it's collectors, it is with great honor that we announce his official induction into the LittleRubberGuys Hall of Fame!

WhiteLeo - Inducted July 22nd, 2007

Edited by sborders, 04 October 2009 - 06:31 PM.

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#18 jkaris

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Posted 23 July 2007 - 04:52 PM

Matt (Universal Ruler Supreme)

Not too often will someone put their effort into a project few people will understand and even fewer people care about. But to the people that do understand and care deeply about the project – the effort is Herculean.

URS helped Soupie to crack the M.U.S.C.L.E. code. As Soupie said URS discovered, “the nature and depth of the connection using data available at the MUSCLE Database. Specifically URS provided “all the information about the trees, including the figure composition of each, the colors in which each was made, and the scarcity of each color.”

URS toiled many long hours on it for the sole purpose of bettering the hobby – a truly selfless act of legendary proportions.

Universal Ruler Supreme - Inducted July 22nd, 2007
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#19 jkaris

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Posted 23 July 2007 - 05:02 PM

Soupie (Soupie)

Soupie exemplifies what we have striven for in merging the two boards (AKIA & Beastformers). Starting life on these boards as a part time M.U.S.C.L.E. head, he has evolved into one of the premier "Little Rubber Guys" in our group today. Everything he has done, whether it has been toiling long hours to help URS with the M.U.S.C.L.E. color code, creating the M.U.S.C.L.E. Colors Information Archive with Tortle, to document known MUSCLE color variations, or working with Matthef1tz to create the Battle Beasts Super Deformed Archive, he has done out of a love for the hobby and a desire to better the group. It is for this devotion to the group and passion for the hobby, that we are proud to have him as a member of the LittleRubberGuys Hall of Fame!

Soupie - Inducted July 22nd, 2007

Edited by Soupie, 03 February 2010 - 01:05 PM.

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#20 jkaris

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Posted 22 December 2009 - 08:50 PM

Chad Perry (General Veers)

Chad has been a constant presence in the MUSCLE collecting community for nearly a decade. He has worn many hats.

As a collector, he has amassed one of the largest MUSCLE collections in the hobby; and his approach to collecting is to be admired as well, for it involves patience, prudence, and honesty. The information Chad the researcher has uncovered and shared about the MUSCLE toy line and the Mattel toy company is legendary, to say the least. As the webmaster, he brought us "Rare MUSCLE stuff" and now "The University of MUSCLE." Motivated only by his love of the toy line and his desire to enrich the hobby, both websites have proven to be valuable additions to our community. For better or worse, the contributions of Chad the entertainer to various forum discussions over the years have been nothing less than hilarious. Finally, Chad will perhaps best be remembered for his years of service as the sternest, most active, and most despised moderator of first the AKIA and later LRG. And though the bane of many, it must be said that many also appreciated his approach to moderating as well.

General Veers - Inducted November 13th, 2009
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#21 jkaris

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Posted 26 March 2010 - 09:34 PM

SoldierAtaru

For many years, the basic goal of many American Kinnikuman enthusiasts has been simple: to learn as much as possible about these little rubber figures that intrigue us. Many of us have spent countless hours examining these tiny creatures, wondering where they came from, what their names are, and how they relate to each other. The inception of AKIA, and the life it has taken on since, are a testament to the fans' thirst for information.

In the quest for Kinniku-related knowledge, all paths lead to one source; the 36 volume set of Kinnikuman Manga, published by Shueisha from 1979-1987. Contained within these tomes are the characters and storylines from which all things Kinniku are based, from the animated television series, to the toylines in Japan and elsewhere in the world, to various spin-off series, and so on.
And yet, even with these books in hand, the information that one can glean from them is quite limited, if one cannot read or understand the Japanese language. Aside from inferences that can be made by viewing the pictoral aspects of each page, very little can be learned beyond that.

Over the years, a few scattered fragments of the story had been translated. As those circulated throughout this relatively small community, tiny portions of the story were revealed, and yet many questions still remained.
The gaps in the translated story, in many ways, seemed more mysterious than ever, and we waited for someone to come along that could offer a unified translation in completion...

That wish has been personified in one man: SoldierAtaru.

Due to his tireless efforts and countless hours of hard work, the community now has access to the entire manga series translated into english. This in of itself is a major resource for the community, but SoldierAtaru's enrichment of LRG does not end there. Beyond literal translation, his insightful observations regarding the story itself, offered throughout discussions all during the phases of this project, have aided in an even fuller understanding of the story and it's characters for all of us.

SoldierAtaru's dedication to the Kinnikuman Manga is unparalleled. His monumental effort and meticulous work ethic have not gone unappreciated, and we, as a community, thank him wholeheartedly. He has truly earned a legendary status among Kinnikuman fans everywhere.

SoldierAtaru - Inducted December 13th 2009
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