A couple months ago, as America was ushered into a new decade, I saw someone posted online that we 70’s babies have lived in 2 millennia, 2 centuries and 5 decades. I had to stop and ponder that for a minute to be able to take it all in but essentially yes, it is correct. I was born in the late 70’s which made me a child of the 80’s, a teen in the 90’s, then came 2000, 2010 and now 2020. I suppose that, even at my youthful age, I have seen a lot. Still I have always had an affinity for the 80’s and 90’s, the music, the movies, the TV, the fashion and especially the toys.
I don’t know what it is about toys from my childhood that capture me so completely. Just seeing them brings me joy. I’m the type who will watch YouTube videos for hours of people reviewing old toys, I have been known to drive far distances to visit vintage toy stores and Peddlers Malls. eBay, Offer Up and LetGo have become a normal hunting ground for me as well.
Most of what we go over will be 80’s related but occasionally we will step into the 90’s and we are likely to drift back to the 70’s from time to time and if something newer catches my eye I might discuss it as well. We will go over the history of the toy lines, my memories of them and discuss the current collectability of them.
On our first adventure I decided to take a look at Millions Of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking EVERYWHERE! Yes, today we are going to be talking about one of my favorite toys from the 80’s, M.U.S.C.L.E.S.! At first glance, if you haven’t seen these before, you might be saying “Why?” but these little guys were awesome. They were affordable, there were a lot of different ones and they became something fun to collect.
Originally you could buy them one of two ways, in a blister pack with 4 men, or my favorite, the plastic garbage can which held 10. Why a garbage can? Who knows? It was just cool looking! They were small, around 2 inches, they were molded and could not be articulated, and they were weird looking. I used to think a portion of these guys were inspired by Luchador wrestlers and the masks they wear but that isn’t exactly where this bizarre creation found its roots.
Let’s take a quick look at the history behind the toy.
Kinnikuman, was a manga introduced in 1979 by writer Takashi Shimada and artist Yoshinori Nakai. Yes, as is often the case, this one found its beginning in Japan. As I mentioned I thought the look of these guys might have been inspired by Luchadores, but actually it was launched to parody action superheroes of the time like Ultraman.
Eventually the story line shifted lanes and these guys became intergalactic professional wrestlers which is why I always thought Luchadores. This story addition would help define the look of Kinnikuman (which translates to, surprise surprise Muscleman) and create a run better suited for an American audience, especially since wrestling in the 80’s was huge! We also had something really cool in that each of the strange, cosmic wrestlers had their own specialized finishing move… Think Mortal Kombat only more light hearted and fun.
When they were released in America only two of these bad boys were ever given names. Muscle Man, and Buffalo Man, later renamed Terri Bull, but the Manga characters all had names that fit what they looked like, Oil Man who was made up of oil cans for example.
The Manga was popular, and it spawned into a cartoon series in Japan in 1983 that ran for 3 seasons and even had a few movies, and with that we bring on the toys! Bandai produced these. They had had success with another toy, which we will discuss in a future post called Monchichi. Bandai was pumping these little guys out in a style known as Keshi, which basically means eraser. They were all one color, originally flesh color, and small enough to be bought out of vending machines, and they were a huge hit.
Enter Mattel. Around the end of 1985 (although some say 86) Mattel acquired the rights to distribute in the U.S. and Canada. They looked at the Anime series but deemed it too violent for kids in America and instead opted to release the toys in sets without a back story. It was a gamble, but they were cheap to produce and had a high collectability factor.
Originally a 4 pack might have run you $1 and a can of 10 under $5. It was easy for parents to say “Yes” to appease a kid who was complaining as they were being hauled through K-Mart and the unique design made them appealing enough that kids did ask. There were also the 28 packs which would go for under $10. The 28 packs did help to establish story and divided the two warring factions, the Thug Busters, the good guys lead by Muscle Man, and the Cosmic Crunchers, the bad guys lead by Terri-Bull.
Now lets talk collecting!
In the US there were 236 official figures, a horrible Nintendo game, the awesome Championship Battlin belt that you could wear and also held figures, the boardgame with 5 exclusive figures and the awesome, Hard Knockin Rockin wrestling ring set that came with 2 exclusive figures.
The first shipment of figures were all pinkish in color, mostly described as bubble gum pink or flesh. The second round was either the flesh color, dark blue, red, or purple. The third shipment came in dark blue, red, purple, magenta, salmon (similar to the flesh), lime green, neon orange, and light blue. They also had a Mail in Poster. If you are even considering starting a collection, I would recommend trying to get your hand on one of these. It is an awesome index for the figures and would help you figure out what you need… also it looks awesome. There were 233 characters on the poster and even a little spot where you could mark them once you had them (I wouldn’t do that today if I had a crisp copy of this poster). You can try and get these off eBay, assuming you can find one, or heck, print one up so you can mark them off. Keep in mind the poster does not contain every figure if you are doing the Japanese Kinkeshi as well as the US M.U.S.C.L.E. lines.
As is usually the case with collecting there are some figures more rare than others, Satan Cross has gained a bit of a rare status for example, as has the Purple Claw.
Collectors beware! There were a lot of knock-offs as this was such an inexpensive and popular line. One way to make sure you’re getting the real deal is the feel. The bootlegs usually feel a bit flimsier as they are often made with cheaper material, but the best way is to look on the back. Authentic figures will have the Y/S*N*T stamped in.
Y for Yudetamago, the manga team. S for Shueisha, the manga publishing company N for NTV, the network that broadcast the series and of course T = Toei, the animation company that produced the series.
A fantastic place to go if you’re wanting to collect is Musclefigures.com They have a product guide and lists there that are invaluable!
So there you have it, a quick rundown on the M.U.S.C.L.E. toy phenomenon. Back in the day I had a ton of these, probably most of them in fact, but alas, like most things, they disappeared from my life. I have started collecting them again and for new collectors there are a great place to start as they can be obtained fairly cheap, although not as cheap as they were originally, and they look great. The common figures are about 4 times what they once were, running $1-2 each.
Coming up we will be talking about Battle Beasts! Until then, remember, when it comes to collecting Rewind Toys, the hunt is half the fun.
Jason Emmitt, signing off.
#rewindtoys #M.U.S.C.L.E.
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