M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #176 (Paul Stanley – er…I mean, Heavy Metal)
by Professor Terry
M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #176 seems completely out of place in the M.U.S.C.L.E. toy line. He seems out of place to me because he doesn’t look like a wrestler. But other people could feel that way about so many other figures.
Then what about his rock motif? He really bears a striking similarity to KISS front man Paul Stanley. I’m fairly certain KISS was rather a big thing in Japan, so maybe that is indeed the case. I am aware that there are figures based on real wrestlers of the time such as Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, and Andre The Giant.
If Heavy Metal is indeed a rock based figure, then where is the figure based on Ozzy Osbourne? Or Jimi Hendrix? Or Steven Tyler? Personally I’d rather have a figure based on Gene Simmons.
To me Heavy Metal is the Paul Stanley lookalike so I had to get him custom painted. It is absolutely one of my favorite customs! Even Gene Simmons (super-collector of KISS memorabilia) doesn’t have this piece.
Of all the figures in the Mighty Maulers #3 28-pack this is the figure I like best. I had never seen any of the figures in the #3 28-pack as a child. Buying that pack as an adult collector brought a nice surprise as every figure was new to me.
I’ve discovered that 24 figures of the #3 28-pack were made in my favorite color – Light Blue! Even better, none of them are a Class A figure. It makes for a really nice and simple collection if you want to collect “Paul Stanley” M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #176.
The downside of collecting “Paul Stanley” is that there is only one other Heavy Metal figure in existence. It is the Deka Kinkeshi which will set you back $15-$20. But a nice figure just the same.
