The Claw Hand-Painted M.U.S.C.L.E. Figurine

I was barely paying any attention to a vendor's wares at the flea market recently, when a M.U.S.C.L.E. figure caught my eye. It LOOKED like an extra fancy M.U.S.C.L.E., like more of a keychain piece or something, not like a standard single color M.U.S.C.L.E. at all. I picked it up and noticed there were a couple more, and then I noticed they were original M.U.S.C.L.E. figures that had been hand-painted (and a damn fine job of it too!)

I was impressed, but not overly excited as I am not too crazy for M.U.S.C.L.E. figures these days. However I did dig through the pile (which also included hand-painted RPG figures) just in case somethign was extra special. Well, something in the pile WAS extra special:

The CLAAAAAWWWWWWWW!

If you collected M.U.S.C.L.E.back in the eighties, The Claw was either your favorite or in your top 5. I had an original pink Claw back in the day and always regretted getting rid of him when I got rid of all my M.U.S.C.L.E. collection. A few years back I found a green example at the flea market and he has held a spot of reverence in my collection ever since.

This hand-painted (no pun intended) example of The Claw is a thing of beauty. He was once an original pink (I at first thought about trying to remove the paint, then I realized what a great job the artists did and will be keeping him like this!) He has some points of wear but the pink showing through only serves to look like actual wrinkles or scars, so it isn't an issue.

The vendor had four or five of them and honestly I should have grabbed them all, but most were painted examples of figures I already have or could care less about, and a couple were worn from having been poorly stored and transported. But he only wanted a quarter each (ZOMG!!!) and in my ecstasy over finding The Claw (for a quarter!) I sort of glazed over and didn't think about how cool it would have been to have all of them. Oh well, maybe I'll find the guy again in the future and buy up the rest.

In the meantime I have The Claw and this guy,,,with claws. Not sure of his name but he was just too cool looking with this custom paint job to pass up. Whoever painted these guys knew what he was doing, at least until he somehow lost track of them and they ended up at the flea market for a quarter.

Random toy Pic(s) :: Flexing Some MUSCLE

Here are just a couple random MUSCLE dudes for your viewing pleasure. I know these guys have legit names, but part of the fun of these was always making up their names and bios, so these are merely my silly interpretations:

Jazz Man! This guy always reminded me of the G1 Transformer Jazz.

The Amazing Two-Ply! He'll wipe the floor with you, and wipe your ass too!

The Troublesome Tribble! Watch out, he multiplies!

And last but not least, Cagney McLacey!

Monday MUSCLE

One of my MUSCLE figures from my recent original MUSCLE flea market haul, this sea turtle mutant dude is pretty awesome and a definite favorite for a TMNT fan like myself!

EDIT: This is apparently Sneagator in his second form - and a predecessor to his Hand or Claw form! Cool!

Ultimate MUSCLE

I recently bought a box of toys from Brian at Cool and Collected, and one batch of items were these 'Ultimate MUSCLE' figurines from 2002.

I don't recall the MUSCLE resurgence of the early 2000s, but it was most likely short lived here in the US. Maybe it was ill timed, nostalgia-wise, because these little figures do what the original MUSCLE figures delivered while adding to the fun with a few additional adjustments.

Let's take a look, shall we?

Here is a comparison shot between the flesh colored Ultimate MUSCLE and the original eighties flesh colored MUSCLES. Not too different, a little shorter and made of a harder plastic, but they fit right in for both character and design.

One neat update for the new line was the inclusion of a few fully painted figures.I think this guy is 'Kinnikuman.' EDIT: Thanks to Soundwave810's comment, we now know this is in fact Kinnikuman's son, Mantaro aka Kid Muscle.

The fully painted figures are pretty neat and make me wish the original line had included some fully painted figures!

Also part of the new line are different colors besides 'flesh,' like this red fellow here. The original MUSCLE line started releasing the figures in colors shortly after their initial pink release, but I never liked any of those. I was a MUSCLE purist back then.

I don't know enough about MUSCLE lore to tell you who this guy is but he has appeared many times in the original line. EDIT: Again, thanks to Soundwave810's MUSCLE knowledge, it has been revealed that this is Kevin Mask, son of the original MUSCLE Robin Mask.

This guy reminds me of Wolverine. The hair and the 'x' on his chest do it.

This guy has a bowl of what I assume is rice on his head. I can't even begin to imagine why. EDIT: He's Curryman, who according to iok, apparently also had a stint with TNA?!?! See comments below!

Here's a painted silver figure. They went all out on this line!

This Joe Piscopo looking chap is another colored plastic figure, this time in yellow. EDIT: Soundwave810 tells us this is Terry the Kid, son of original MUSCLE Terryman!

Last but not least comes my favorite update to the MUSCLE toyline, intertwined wrestlers! BRILLIANT! This takes MUSCLE to the next level. Had I known this type of thing was being sold in 2002 I would have surely bought a whole bunch.

Here's another pair:

These guys are ridiculous and fun! They can be taken apart too!

I knew nothing of Ultimate MUSCLE until I obtained this pile, now I want to track down more, especially of the wrestling pairs!

Random Toy Pic :: Motorcycle MUSCLE

Another gem from my recent M.U.S.C.L.E. haul is this motorcycle man. I had this one as a kid and of course imagined he was a Transformer or Go Bot of some sort ala Cy-Kill.

M.U.S.C.L.E. Announcer guy

 One of the standouts in my recent M.U.S.C.L.E. haul is this little stoic looking ringside announcer guy.

This is a M.U.S.C.L.E. I would have hated as a kid. I would have felt ripped off that I bought a set and a slot for a cool alien or monster was filled with this lame-o Howard Cosell wannabe.

He would have most likely ended up as backyard firecracker fodder.

But as an adult collector, I find him quite charming and a nice variation/addition to the M.U.S.C.L.E. ranks. He is after all the only non wrestler in the whole bunch! And he's perfect if I ever need someone to interview my toys and action figures. Hey, it could happen.

He is officially M.U.S.C.L.E. #162 (Nakano-San) and was available in the Cosmic Showdown 28 pack.

However I shall dub him 'Bryant Gumball.'

"And now we go live to ringside..."

Flea Market M.U.S.C.L.E.

I stole the opportunity to hit the flea market today and was rewarded with 35 M.U.S.C.L.E. figures for four bucks (that's just over 11 cents a M.U.S.C.L.E.!)

There are some real standouts in this pile which I will highlight in a later post.

Also, I am wearing my Shelby shirt in honor of my namesake Carroll Shelby, who passed away yesterday. R.I.P. (Race in Peace) good sir!

Four Finger Discount

In retrospect, it seems like the M.U.S.C.L.E. fad was a quick one in my toy collecting history. While things like Star Wars and Transformers and Batman have been in my life almost constantly since their introductions into my collecting habits, M.U.S.C.L.E. were fun to collect and waste money on for a short time, then something else distracted my young mind and I soon got rid of all of them and moved on. I had a whole lot of the pink/flesh tone ones and I think I gave up on them when they started to be made into various colors. When color variations begin, a toyline is dying.

I see random single M.U.S.C.L.E. figures on occasion at the Flea Market or other places, most often they are pretty dirty or roughed up, and I rarely give them much more than a glance. A little over a year ago I did buy up a bunch of them from a garage sale, and they are still as cool and cute and as quickly forgotten about as ever; although I did have fun giving them all names.

But of all the M.U.S.C.L.E. figures I owned as a child, one stands out in my mind as a toy I wish I had held on to and have always wanted to re-acquire.

And this past weekend I found him at the Flea Market!

This is M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #153, commonly referred to as 'The Claw.' I always thought his face looks a lot like a chicken, which may be intentional; his face is after all on 'the bird' finger. This fact may also explain the 'chicken' pox he seems to be suffering from.

The one I had as a kid was flesh tone, but hey, a green claw with a face is as acceptable as any other color around here, right? I'm no Clawist!

Anyways, Claw is definitely one of the coolest M.U.S.C.L.E. figures ever made, and I am glad to once again add him to my ridiculous collection.