Ultimate Muscle - The Kinnikuman Legacy

G2 6.5 inch Action Figures

 

Basics:

Each figure is packaged individually and comes with an accessory or two, as well as a Kinnikuman game card (Pokemon anyone?). Retail pricing is US $7.99. Their Ultimate Muscle names are used, but on the guys that have a different Japanese name, the name is written just underneath.

Here is the card back:

 

There are eight figures total in the first release. They are:

 

Kinniku Mantaro (Kid Muscle)

Accessories: Championship Belt and Beef Guidon Bowl

Variants: V.1 Gray Elbow Joints - V.2 Flesh Elbow Joints

 

 

Kinnikuman Suguru (King Muscle)

Accessories: Championship Trophy

Variants: none

 

 

Ramen Man

Accessories: Frying Wok and Soup Ladle

Variants: V.1 Flesh Joints/Brown Hair - V.2 Gray Joints/Black Hair

 

 

Terry the Kid

Accessories: Ring Bell and Hammer

Variants: none

 

 

Kevin Mask

Accessories: Stretching Spring Chest Builder

Variants: V.1 Gray Elbow Joints - V.2 Flesh Elbow Joints

 

 

Robin Mask

Accessories: Bent Iron I-Beam

Variants: none

 

 

Warsman

Accessories: Ball and Chain

Variants:none

 

 

Jade (Jaeger)

Accessories: Folding Chair

Variants: V.1 Gray Elbow Joints - V.2 Flesh Elbow Joints

 

 

 

 

They come with 25 points of articulation, but there are actually 31 separate joints on these guys! Made of painted plastic, with some rubber extras (mustache, skirt, pony tail). The paint is pretty good, and the joints are steady.

Each joint is labeled below:

 

1. Knuckles - 2 way joint

2. Wrist - 360 degree swivel

3. Lower elbow - 2 way joint

4. Upper elbow- 2 way joint

5. Upper arm - 360 degree swivel

6. Middle Shoulder - 2 way joint

7. Upper Shoulder - 360 degree swivel

 

8. Diaphragm area - 2 way joint

9. Abdomen - 2 way joint

10. Waist - 360 degree swivel

 

11. Hip - Ball joint

12. Thigh - 360 degree swivel

13. Upper Knee - 2 way joint

14. Lower Knee - 2 way joint

15. Upper ankle - 2 way joint

16. Lower ankle - 2 way joint (see close up below)

 

The figure poses pretty nicely, as you can see below:

 

But he does have some unsightly screw holes on the back...

 

Here is the location of the copyright.

 

Overall:

For the money ($8) these are a great deal. The plastic is sturdy and should not break very easily as is the perception from seeing these guys in the packaging. The flat paint is great and the lines are clean. The only things I was disappointed in were the unpainted joints (the Japanese figures are FULLY painted) and the ugly screw holes on the back. Other than that, these are great figures, and rival the fully articulated Spiderman line up. I'd give them an A.

Here is a size comparison between the new Ultimate Muscle action figure, the Romando action figure, the new Ultimate Muscle PVC and a M.U.S.C.L.E.

 

Addendum:

Spy Magician from the AKIA Boards put up this great comparison of the Japanese vs. US versions!

 

Hi Everyone!
I'm new to the boards, but a longtime Kinnikuman/MUSCLE fan.
Anyway, I just got a pair of the Japanese Nisei figures and thought I'd post some comparisons of them to the US version.
The packs being compared are the Jade/Kevin Mask pack to the US Jaeger and Kevin Mask.


As stated earlier, the paint ops are much less on the US versions and the joints are oddly colored, but the toys themselves are exactly the same.
On the Japanese ones there are much more detail (Kevin Mask has a painted earring, belt details and tattoo, while Jade has detailed buttons, laces, and helmet details.)
Also the figures are all painted, including the joints and fleshtone, so they look much less "cheap" than the US ones (they should, as they cost twice as much! smile.gif
My pictures are not high res so you probably can't see , but the Japanese versions all have airbrushed shading on the muscles and costumes, making them look more like the quality of the Romando figures, with less weight.
Overall, I really like the figures. The Japanese ones look much better, but are expensive and do not include accessories or cards.
The US ones aren't perfect looking, but are great fun toys.
Anyway, on to the pictures:

 



SpyMagician

 

Prototypes:

I have recently acquired, what I believe to be a prototype or test sample of a Terry Kenyon figure. The figures is really odd, for a few reasons. First, and most noticeable, the left upper arm is a yellowish clear plastic, while the left forearm is the same, but almost a milky yellow color in appearance. The right upper arm is an opaque milky color. The head is fully painted, as are the Japanese version (the US version is molded in flesh colored plastic, and only the hair, eyes and Band-Aid are painted).

 

But....that is where the similarity to his Japanese counterpart ends. Similar to the US version, from top to bottom:

His joints are gray as in the US version, not blue like the Japanese figure.

His torso is painted the same as the US version, without the added shading of the Japanese version.

His feet lack the gray treads as in the Japan toy, but are the same color as the rest of the shoe, like the US version.

Also, the trademarks on the bottom of his feet match the US toy.

 

There are two things that are unique to this figure though, they are:

 

His shoulder joints are molded in gray plastic.

On the US versions, these are molded in the flesh plastic, and in the Japanese version this is a clear plastic, painted flesh.

 

 

His knee pads. The oval on his knee pads almost seem to dip in on this figure, whereas on both the US and Japanese version, they are more rounded. They are also a slightly lighter shade of gray than the US version.

 

For the $17 I paid for this guy, including shipping from Hong Kong, I am very, very happy!

 

Errata:

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss these toys, you can go to the thread at the AKIA web board HERE!