MUSCLE men are the American version of Japanese Kinnikuman. Kinnikuman were released in Japan in a series of sets called "Parts."
(1) Step one of the MCIA Kinnikuman Parts is determining which MUSCLEs belong to which Kinnikuman Parts. All this entails is visiting Naochin's Kinnikuman Parts archive. There you find images of all the Kinnikuman organized by their parts.
A portion of Kinnikuman Part One.
(2) Once you determine which MUSCLE sculpts belong to which Parts, you need to find the "stats" for each MUSCLE sculpt. This entails visiting the MUSCLE Database web site. Determine which colors each sculpt has been recorded as found in by collectors.
A portion of the MUSCLE Database.
(3) Once you know which Kinnikuman Part a MUSCLE sculpt belongs to and have determined which colors it is reported as found in you can compare it to other MUSCLE sculpts that belong to the same Kinnikuman Part. A pattern, or multiple patterns, within each Part will emerge.
In the image below, you are looking at the breakdown of MUSCLEs into Kinnikuman Part one (done by URS). First you must note that the original Kinnikuman Part one consisted of 20 sculpts. However, one of the sculpts was NOT made into a MUSCLE sculpt. Therefore, there are only 19 MUSCLE sculpts in Part one.
You'll notice that in the second grouping (tree two) there are NO MUSCLE sculpts reported to be found in Dark Blue. However, in the first grouping (tree one) there appears to be a pattern, but the pattern is slightly disrupted by reports of finding a few sculpts in Magenta and Orange. However, the pattern is strong enough, that we can be confident in the two groupings (trees).
MUSCLE figures grouped by Kinnikuman Part and MUSCLE Database stats.
(4) Once you have all the MUSCLEs organized by which Kinnikuman Part they belong to and by the colors they are reported as found in via the MUSCLE Database, you can organize their images into the MCIA Kinnikuman Parts!
A portion of MCIA Kinnikuman Parts, Part One.
Problems with this method?
The problem with this method can be seen above. You'll note that in the first grouping (tree) of the MCIA Part One that a few figures have been reported in Magenta and Orange. However, I have NO images of sculpts from this grouping in Magenta and Orange. Furthermore, only a few people report having found sculpts from this grouping in Magenta and Orange.
So, I conclude that it is highly likely that these few reports are mistakes. However, there remains the possibility that this grouping DOES come in Magenta and Orange. However, I simply do not have any images of these figures.
Likewise, though no one reports finding sculpts in grouping (tree) two in Dark Blue and I have NO images of sculpts from this grouping in Dark Blue, I can't rule out the possibility that the sculpts assigned to this grouping may indeed be found in Dark Blue.
------------
So you'd like to contribute some colored MUSCLE images to the MUSCLECIA?
Great! Even if you only have one or two figures not documented, send 'em along and I'll slap them into the Archive.
What do you need to do?
Option One
1) Check this thread to make sure someone isn't already working on providing pictures of the MUSCLEs you had in mind.
2) Post in this thread indicating which figures and colors you'd like to contribute.
3) Take a high resolution shot of the figures you have (with a white/light background).
4) PM me, Soups, when you're finished, and I'll give you my email address.
5) Email me the picture(s).
I'll take it from there!
Option Two
1) Check this thread to see what is needed/ in process.
2) Take individual pictures of your figures (with a white/light background).
3) Crop them down to 125 x 125, including a one pixel, black border.
4) Label each picture like so:
Three Digit Number + Color
Example: #2 Light Blue would be written as 002lb
(Check here to determine the numbers of your MUSCLEs.)
Here's the color code:
Red = r
(Dark) Purple = p
Light Purple (Grape) = lp
(Neon) Green = g
(Neon) Orange = o
Dark Blue = db
Light Blue = lb
*Be careful not to get Magenta and Salmon confused!*
Magenta = m
Salmon = s
(Check here to determine the colors of your MUSCLEs.)
5) PM me, Soups, to let me know which figures you have finished and to get my email address.
6) Email me the pictures (in a Zip file).
There is a Contributers Page. If you'd like, I can add your name along with a link to any URL of your choosing!
See the posts below for visual examples! (Isn't this fun, kids?)
Edited by Soupie, 03 May 2007 - 04:57 AM.
