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

The first auction, 40 OLD Mattel M.U.S.C.L.E. Muscle Men Figure Kinnikuman, is a doozy. It features seven Class A figures: Red #113, Green #182, Dark Blue #224, and Purple #2 (x2), #29, and #157.

These Class A figures are actually pretty nice looking figures. However, Purple #2 is a very popular figure. The last auction documented on UofM saw the figure sell for $54.05. It is interesting to see how the Purple #2 will impact the final price of this auction.

The opening bid seems high at $24.99 (and the shipping seems a bit high), but the Purple #2 figures make it seem arguably fair. Hopefully this auction runs its full course. It will be very interesting to watch.

It is also refreshing to see a Canadian auction with Class A figures starting at a rationale price.

The second auction, Mattel Muscle man figure lot, is a pretty simple lot of 114 figures. The figures are mostly M.U.S.C.L.E., but there are some Ultimate Muscle figures too.

There are four parts that made this auction worth spotlighting: (1) the size of the lot; (2) it is starting at $0.99; (3) it has free shipping; and (4) there is a Purple Count Dookula figure.

When I look at this mixture of figures I see it as a positive thing. I believe these types of lots are the life blood of minifigure collecting. Low cost variety is the best way to introduce collectors to new figures.

I have to imagine that some collectors dislike the variety. They only want their specific figures. That does not seem like as much fun to me. But I am not sure fun is the main goal of some collectors. Task completion, over fun, seems more important to some collectors.

The third auction, Nice lot of Six custom muscle 153 claws, kinnikuman, M.U.S.C.L.E., is the type of auction that fascinates me. I am always curious to watch auctions with custom figures. I am even more curious when the custom figures are exact copies of a figure. In my experience, it is almost impossible to predict a final price.

With this lot of custom #153 figures I wonder if they come from Doc’s picture that he shared years ago. Probably not. Doc might have had more custom #153 figures than any collector – at least at one point.

Not only is Doc a great guy, but he’s selling a lot of cool M.U.S.C.L.E. stuff. Be sure to check out all of Doc’s auctions. It is always nice to buy M.U.S.C.L.E. items from a collector you can trust.

The fourth auction, 1983 Muscle Wrestlers Empty Pack Very Rare, made me smile.

At first I was going to write in a sarcastic tone; expressing my excitement over such a “rare” item. But sarcasm does not always read well. It also seemed too mean for something that made me smile.

I smiled because it is just so silly. The most absurd part of the auction is impossible to pinpoint. Is it selling an empty 4-pack? Is it calling it “Very Rare?” It could be the seller thinking, “I should sell this treasure!”

M.U.S.C.L.E. 4-pack cards are funny to me. They have pretty regularly popped-up in auctions. Did these cardbacks stick around for so long because there was so little M.U.S.C.L.E. information available when they were originally released?

Even if that’s true, then why don’t people throw them away today?