Tat Tuesday.

Due to my new found interest in independent toys, thanks to the amazing Glyos series, I have become more aware of small static figures. A lot of smaller "Art Toys" fall into that category, due to how easy and inexpensive they are to make. The funny thing is I have a history with this type of toy. Actually most people my age, well at least guys, do. Growing up in the 80's there was a line of small non-posable figures that were everywhere. They weren't insanely popular but they were omnipresent. That line was called M.U.S.C.L.E. and that is what I will be talking about today.

M.U.S.C.L.E., which stands for Millions of Unusual Creatures Lurking Everywhere, was a line of 2 inch PVC figures that were unpainted and had no points of articulation. Their main selling points were their cheap price and numerous characters, each with a detailed sculpt. As with most great toys of the 80's M.U.S.C.L.E. came from Japan. The Japanese line was called KinKeshi a name that was derived from the type of toy "Keshi" and the source material "Kinnikuman". Kinnikuman was a manga and anime created by the duo of Yudetamago. Although none of this was common knowledge until much later.

In America the toys had much less of a back-story. In fact only two of the figures were named. The main hero "Muscle Man" and his nemesis "Buffaloman". The other 200 plus figures went unnamed. The story presented to kids was a basic good vs evil. The only unique aspect being that the character were wrestlers.

The wrestling angle became more prominent with the M.U.S.C.L.E. accessories. The "Hard Knockin' Rockin' Ring" pictured above was the major accessory. It turned the static figures into a kinetic battle game. The second most important accessory was the "Battlin' Belt". The "Battlin' Belt" married a carrying case, a display case, and a Wrestling Championship belt into one cool toy. The series even inspired a board game that used the figures.

The popularity of M.U.S.C.L.E. was rather short lived in the US. The toy line ran for only two years here. Japan, however, was another story. The Kinnikuman empire, if you will, never slowed down. The figures, which were not limited to the unpainted 2 inch PVC format, are still available, while a new anime is in the works. In fact the continued popularity of Kinnikuman in Japan helped to create a short lived revival in the states. In the early 2000's dubbed versions of the more recent animes could be seen on American TV.

The popularity of M.U.S.C.L.E. can be seen in other ways. I mentioned at the beginning of this post that small independent companies are releasing figures reminiscent of the M.U.S.C.L.E. line. That's true. These toy lines put sculpt and character design above everything else. This results in small intricately designed figures that are more art than toy, but all fun. If you are interested in checking out some of these line, and you should be, check out the links below.

Wikipedia
Amazon
Youtube
Nathan's M.U.S.C.L.E.

O.M.F.G.
S.L.U.G.
Z.O.M.B.I.E.