Ok. Once again let’s entertain one of my super rare theories.
For the longest time the only official list of MUSCLE’s came from the poster (233 figures), the ring (2 figures), and the game (10 figures, but all from the poster, right?).
Then we saw a SC in a 4 pack, which made it an official MUSCLE. And now we pretty much accept DM, BHS, and SHA as official MUSCLE’s too.
So the list of MUSCLE’s breaks down like this:
233 – Poster
001 – SC
001 – BHS
001 – SHA
001 – DM
002 – Ring Figures
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239 Figures
We also know that the 28 packs contained “exclusive” figures. You could only get those 28 figures through the 28 packs. So I believe with all of these pink figures Bandai (the actual manufacturer) would want to keep these figures together, which I believe means that they probably molded these 28 figures together and then packaged them.
Since Bandai needed to keep these 4 groups of 28 separate I believe that they would have made 4 molds that had each set in it. Perhaps it would look something like this…
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
---------------------------------
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Does that make sense? Well I hope it does, and I’ll continue.
Now that Bandai had the need for these 4 molds, they would probably want to keep the system the same for all of the figures. This would be easy to do because of the breakdown of the packaging. One mold holds 28 figures. That means one mold could make a 28 pack. It also means that one mold would make two 10 packs and two 4 packs.
Now here’s where the math would break down. We only know off 239 figures. If Bandai used the 28 figure mold, then they would have to have at least 9 molds. This means they would have produced 252 figures. That means 13 more figures that we don’t know about. This doesn’t seem right.
But I feel I’m on the right track. So imagine that Bandai used a somewhat similar system. Instead of molding 28 at a time, they would have done 8 at a time. This means 4 molds per 28 pack. Again, it would be easy to keep the 28 pack molds separate and it would also allow for better quality control. The math works better too. The 28 packs would be easy to do. Use the 4 molds and get 28 figures. Use 4 molds again and get two 4 packs and two 10 packs.
Here Bandai would need to have 30 molds, which would equal 240 figures. This makes even more sense. Look…
233 – Poster
001 – SC
001 – BHS
001 – SHA
001 – DM
002 – Ring Figures
001 – The Last Super Rare
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240 Figures
It also makes sense that one of the molds included BHS, DM, SHA, and the other super rare. Perhaps Bandai had a few printings, but production ended early with these figures. SHA and BHS might be a chocking hazard, so DM and Mystery #4 get cut too because they are part of that mold. It’s not that they are unsafe, just unlucky to be on that mold.
How does this sound?
Super Rares
Started by
Guest_General Veers_*
, Jul 09 2003 09:02 AM
6 replies to this topic
#2
Tortle
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Nathan
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Posted 09 July 2003 - 09:38 AM
Good ideas! A couple of things, though:
If the molds for the figures were permanently attached to each other, then they would not be placed in the MUSCLE 28-pack assortments as the molds originated from Bandai Japan. It would be probable that each mold would feature all the figures from the Kinnkuman parts:
http://ulala69.hp.in...standardtop.htm
That would make production for Mattel extremely difficult, as some figures could not be produced for culture-specific reasons (like Brokken and that african guy).
So, I think that individual molds existed for each figure, and the molds could be placed together in a set like a type-setter. That way, Mattel could divide the production into 28-pack figures and non-28-pack figures, and drastically simplify the packaging process.
That would explain why certain figures could be removed from assortments before production began. However, I would think that it would be difficult to leave empty spaces in each "type-setter", and 125 (the number of non-28pack molds) is not evenly divisible by 4 (the number of rares that would theoretically be in a mold set) so your thought process of accounting for missing molds still holds true. By this logic, there has to be at least a few more super-rares to even out the mold sets.
All this, of course, assumes that multiple MUSCLEs were molded at once. It's perfectly likely that they were molded individually.
-Nathan
If the molds for the figures were permanently attached to each other, then they would not be placed in the MUSCLE 28-pack assortments as the molds originated from Bandai Japan. It would be probable that each mold would feature all the figures from the Kinnkuman parts:
http://ulala69.hp.in...standardtop.htm
That would make production for Mattel extremely difficult, as some figures could not be produced for culture-specific reasons (like Brokken and that african guy).
So, I think that individual molds existed for each figure, and the molds could be placed together in a set like a type-setter. That way, Mattel could divide the production into 28-pack figures and non-28-pack figures, and drastically simplify the packaging process.
That would explain why certain figures could be removed from assortments before production began. However, I would think that it would be difficult to leave empty spaces in each "type-setter", and 125 (the number of non-28pack molds) is not evenly divisible by 4 (the number of rares that would theoretically be in a mold set) so your thought process of accounting for missing molds still holds true. By this logic, there has to be at least a few more super-rares to even out the mold sets.
All this, of course, assumes that multiple MUSCLEs were molded at once. It's perfectly likely that they were molded individually.
-Nathan
#3
jkaris
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Posted 09 July 2003 - 09:50 AM
I think they used the original Bandai Molds (i.e. had Bandai manufacture them all).
My reasoning for this is that MUSCLE came out when Bandai was at part 21 in their Kinnikuman line. Kinnikuman figures in Japan get more expensive, the higher the set number, but for some reason, part 21 figures command a high premium over there also. Part 20 figures are $5-$10. Part 22 are $10+, but part 21 figures are around $20 to $60 each. I assume this denotes a lower production run, which would be explained by all the MUSCLEs that they were pumping out for Mattell.
Just a theory.
My reasoning for this is that MUSCLE came out when Bandai was at part 21 in their Kinnikuman line. Kinnikuman figures in Japan get more expensive, the higher the set number, but for some reason, part 21 figures command a high premium over there also. Part 20 figures are $5-$10. Part 22 are $10+, but part 21 figures are around $20 to $60 each. I assume this denotes a lower production run, which would be explained by all the MUSCLEs that they were pumping out for Mattell.
Just a theory.
#4
Guest_General Veers_*
Guest_General Veers_*
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Posted 09 July 2003 - 09:58 AM
I know for a fact that Bandai manufactured the toys. I’ve been waiting to post some information I got from Mattel and Bandai. I’d post it now but works email is down so you’ll have to wait.
#5
AmoiMan
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Posted 09 July 2003 - 01:39 PM
That's an interesting thoery, Veers. It makes one wonder how many more super rares there may be
#6
arforbes
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Posted 09 July 2003 - 05:55 PM
I'm saying about five, possibly more. Check out why here...That's an interesting thoery, Veers. It makes one wonder how many more super rares there may be
http://www.littlerub...opic=4220&st=60
AKA Yapiel, AKA balucard
I was banned! Read ALL about it! http://www.littlerub...showtopic=23333
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I was banned! Read ALL about it! http://www.littlerub...showtopic=23333
#1 on the LRG Dishonest Members list!
#7
Guest_General Veers_*
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Posted 10 July 2003 - 10:46 AM
I posted the information here...
http://www.littlerub...=ST&f=18&t=4302
I thought it should be a different topic.
http://www.littlerub...=ST&f=18&t=4302
I thought it should be a different topic.
