This picture
shows the complete Kinnikuman collection which includes all 400+ figure sculpts created for the toy
line in Japan. M.U.S.C.L.E. men were based off of these sculpts, but only an official
233 M.U.S.C.L.E. figures were reproduced from the figure molds that created the original Kinnikuman collection.
The only
difference between M.U.S.C.L.E. figures and Kinnikuman figures is the type of plastic that was used to make the figures.
Kinnikuman are made of a soft highly flexible eraser rubber while M.U.S.C.L.E.s are made from a harder more
durable plastic. M.U.S.C.L.E. men are flexible, but not nearly as bendable as Kinnikuman. M.U.S.C.L.E. is
an improvement in the Kinnikuman toy line as far as quality goes, but they lack all the figure sculpts from their predecessors
in Japan.
The Super
Rares are figures that are found in the Kinnikuman line, but not included on the M.U.S.C.L.E. poster. As more Super
Rare figures surface, the question as to whether or not all the Kinnikuman figures were cast as M.U.S.C.L.E.
men becomes something that many collectors ask. Were all 400+ figures possibly created at one point or
another in limited quantities? If not, how many are there that have not been found? Were they part of test runs
for the M.U.S.C.L.E. molding process, or mistake figures that were accidentally produced when they shouldn't have been?
That is the mystery of the Super Rares...click the picture above to see the entire Kinnikuman collection and the possible
remaining Super Rare M.U.S.C.L.E.s!
