12 replies to this topic

[Soupie]

First of all, I've been spending waaaay too much time recently thinking about MUSCLE toys.

Anyhow, while thinking about the potential connection between Bandai factories and the MUSCLE Super-Rares, I wondered if they might have anything to do with MUSCLE colors.

But, first, has anyone considered the possible connection between Kinnikuman Parts and MUSCLE colors? While they may not be directly connected, they might be indirectly connected.

For instance, lets suppose that there were 8 Bandai factories making Colored MUSCLEs. For whatever reason, suppose not all eight factories had the same MUSCLE molds, in other words, not all eight factories had all 233 molds.

Not only that, but not all factories produced all eight colors. Perhaps each factory was only responsible for 2-4 colors.

Thus, the factories missing, say, figure 001, but responsible for Magenta figures, don't produce MUSCLE 001 in Magenta.

One potential factoid supporting this are the entire cases full of 4-packs consisting of only two colors.

Furthermore, perhaps the factory responsible for making Purple and MUSCLE 153, weren't quite as efficient as the others. Thus, there are far fewer Purple 153s (Claw).

[Ridureyu]

Why would they take the extra expense of hiring eight separate factories?

Moving this to the proper forum...

[jkaris]

Sounds entirely possible to me.

[el midgetron]

Not only that, but not all factories produced all eight colors. Perhaps each factory was only responsible for 2-4 colors.

This would mean that they shipped the figure to a separate facility to mix and package the assorted colors of figures. A scenario I think is unlikely due to the added expense.

The variation in specific figure/color ratio dons't seem that odd to me. With 233 sculpts being produced in (is it?) 8 colors multiplied by what must have been hundreds of thousands of units each, there is an huge margin for variation in individual sculpt/color quantity.

There are dozens of mechanisms in the production process we don't have information about that would lend better understanding of the figures allocation. However one thing that is true for all manufacturing is that cost/time is of the essence. It simply might not have been a priority or cost effective to ensure all the figures were produced in equal color ratios.

This could also explain why you have cases of 4-packs that only contain 2-4 colors. It wasn't worth stopping or slowing down production to make sure the color mix was always 100%. After all, in a single package containing 4 figures the best mix you could have per-unit, would only included 4 colors. With the 10 packs, there is the possibility of each package containing every color. There for, the packaging protocol for larger assortments might have had more ridged color mix guidelines (requiring more time/money to ensure).


Or, maybe Japanese people are just color blind, I dunno........

[Soupie]

It simply might not have been a priority or cost effective to ensure all the figures were produced in equal color ratios.

That's certainly true, but it seems odd that no figure has been found in all nine colors (sans Grape).

I'm not sure if you were suggesting the figures were made in any color at random. Although this may seem possible considering we've found some figures in so few of one color (Purple Claw), I think it's unlikely that the process was completely random because not one of the 233 sculpts has been found in all nine colors.

It seems more likely that either they choose not to make the figures in all colors, or it was some fluke of the way they were manufactured.

I'm guessing the latter only because the Kinkeshi seem to have all been made in all five colors. Why not do the same with the MUSCLEs?

Ultimately, you're right though, we'll never know the details. It's still interesting to ponder.

[jkaris]

By the way, speaking of random packaging, has anyone ever found a 4 pack with 2 of the same figure enlosed?

[arforbes]

By the way, speaking of random packaging, has anyone ever found a 4 pack with 2 of the same figure enlosed?

No, I have never seen that. I don't even think I have seen a 4-Pack with two of the same colors enclosed, besides flesh. They all seem to have 4 unique colors, except for the half-flesh half-colored 4-Packs which have two flesh always.

[el midgetron]

yeah, I dunno. The Japanese are crafty people. It would make sense that if their plan was to make 9 different colors of figures, that their manufacturing model would facilitate them doing so in a logical and organized fashion.

Possibly (probably) it was Mattel that decided there should be 9 colors. While the Bandai factories might have been better suited to produce assortments of colors in even numbers (like 4). Causing one color or one series of molds to be rotated, making it impractical to do all the figures in all nine colors. The possibilities are endless.

[el midgetron]

By the way, speaking of random packaging, has anyone ever found a 4 pack with 2 of the same figure enlosed?

I am almost sure I have seen that.

They all seem to have 4 unique colors,

I dunno about that I am pretty sure I have seen four packs with less than 4 colors.


I don't have my 4 packs with me to check tho......

[jkaris]

I have seen two of the same color, but never 2 of the same figure.

[Universal Ruler Supreme]

Keep in mind that there are 5+ colors for the Kinkeshi lines. The factories were apparently multiple color efficient. So Mattel more than likely took that into account, and saw some promise in switching to multiple colors. I think they made about 5 colors at a time, except for when they were still mixing flesh and colored figs. After that you can see 4, 10, and 28 packs with 4 to 5 different colors and sometimes more. Consider the colors that are more prominent to appear with others. Those who have had tons of unopened packs could probably share that info with others.

[Soupie]

Right, I wasn't asserting that there were 8 factories or that they only made 2 colors per factory. It was just an example.

I figured those with a lot of experience could perhaps shed some light. Over at Veers' site, he appears to have found some sort of pattern. However, after having read his theory several times, I'm still not exactly sure what it is.



And just for the record, there are 10 colors of MUSCLEs, but all the figures made in Flesh, and only 5 of the figures were made in Grape.

So, I generally say there are 8 MUSCLE colors.