UofMUSCLE.com – M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures from Mattel

Brute Squad
By Namu Niku and Eric Nilla

Objective:
This figure was released as part of an event in Japan. Rampage Toys hosted a show featuring a variety of custom M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, keshi, and Kinnikuman-inspired figures. The event was called the Nama Niku Wrestling Association (NNWA).

The figure is an impressive blend of figures. As the figure was being constructed Namu Niku shared a picture on Instagram. It is built on the main body of #58. The left head comes from #78. The bottom of the right arm comes from #143. The left foot and hand come from #201. The right hand is more difficult to identify. It certainly does not come from a M.U.S.C.L.E. figure and was not easily identifiable as part of the original 30 Parts of the Kinnikuman figures. The belt/belt buckle was also not identified.

Subjective:
I hate to admit it, but this figure got lost in the mix. Saying that makes it sound like I don’t care about the figure – which couldn’t be more wrong. Even worse I can’t remember if I bought this or it was an extra thrown in with another order. I have to assume it was the latter, because it didn’t have a header card or anything.

Hopefully being that honest lends credibility to when I say that I was blown away by this figure. I also believe that this figure has a place is customizing history. I believe this figure represents a time when more and more was being added to customized figures. And up until around the time of its release (late 2013) all of those additions had been positive. But after this figure some of the additions and customization became too much. It felt, at least to me, people were trying to build the biggest hamburger with the most toppings – but didn’t really care about the taste. Thankfully this “burger” tastes great.

It is probably wrong to dismiss the casting and quality of construction of the figure. It probably deserves several paragraphs of praise. But I’m not going to do that. Maybe the pictures below can showcase some of the praise that is deserved.

Angle #1

Back

Angle #2

But what really stands out to me, or impressed me, was something I kept thinking of as “balance.” The two heads should look crammed or out of place, but they don’t. It looks like two heads belong on this body. That’s amazing to me because my brain knows the body of this figure should only have one head.

The left, clubbed hand is slightly too big – but perfectly too big. Instead of the club making the figure look, or actually be, off-balance it provides (for me) the tangible connection to the figure’s name. I obviously thought of Andre Giant from The Princess Bride when I heard the name of the figure. Andre had a distinct, lumbering, brutish gait. The club on the left hand gives the figure those same qualities.

The best part of this review? The figure is easy to get and still for sale.

You likely already know these artists. But just in case you need to find more information, here are some places to find more information about Nama-Niku:
– Nama-Niku on UofMUSCLE.com
– Nama-Niku.com
– Nama Niku on Instagram
– Namu Niku on Twitter

For more information about Eric Nilla check out these links:
– Eric Nilla on UofMUSCLE.com
– Eric’s Blog
– Eric Nilla on Instagram
– Eric’s Store
– Eric Nilla on Facebook