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

In the last Epilogue I wrote I mentioned talking about my Batman v Superman experience.

Calling it an “experience” is probably too self-aggrandizing. I was an extra; which I learned is only viewed, and valued, as a piece of sub-human set dressing. I don’t want to repeat too much of what I have already shared. You can catch-up here.

Ok, so what else is there to share? Again, just to be safe, I didn’t “see” any of this. I heard all of this information from other people.

Nobody seems to know anything about Scoot McNairy, so let me share all the things I heard.
1. He was hurt in the battle of Metropolis.
2. He will be in Washington DC, testifying against Superman – which aligns him with Lex and Holly Hunter’s character (Senator Finch?) and makes it very unlikely he is Jimmy Olsen.
3. He may play an important role in the DC scene (which you can see below).

This is next bit is much more of what I’ve heard. Scoot shot a scene going through a metal detector. His wheelchair is permitted to go around the detector. The people I spoke with said it was because there is a bomb. The reason I believed them is because the DC testifying scene was a special effects shot. They had a lot of trouble filming it. And most of the extras were 3D scanned. They also mentioned that Tao Okamoto (Mercy Graves) keeps looking at her watch and back at the door during the scene. Consensus said she was looking for Lex, and that the room is destroyed by some kind of blast. Bomb? Doomsday?

The last bit I have to share is 100% my experience. I was thrown out of two scenes. My wife had said I was crazy for thinking I could be an extra. I am a 6’1″, 240 lbs., bald man. She said I never blend into a crowd. Sadly she was absolutely correct.

The first disappointment was being a part of a press conference. I was so excited. Where they positioned me guaranteed me that I would be in the shot. I was going to be right next to Holly Hunter and Scoot McNairy. As they were putting on final make-up and handing me some props I thought, “Oh God, I’m too big to be standing here.”

I was right. I saw Zack and his crew look into their monitor, look up, look back down and I knew I was screwed. I was quickly whisked away. Holly Hunter is tiny. If they had me stand next to her, then I would have looked her look like a large toddler.

The second disappointment was a scene with Superman. Again, my wife said, “They won’t put you anywhere near Superman. You’re as tall as he is. They need him to look huge.” And again she was right. The scene was walking down a Senate hallway. It’s been so long I really can’t remember as many details, but the same thing happened. Props, make-up, and one final look at the extras. As I was standing next to Henry Cavill, eye-to-eye, it became clear I was out. I was right. (I should note height was the only thing we had in common. He’s muscular and good looking. I’m bald, ugly, and fat.)

That’s it. Every Batman v Superman bit of information I have has been shared. I hope it was moderately interesting. Let’s get to some M.U.S.C.L.E. auctions.

– “These are ALL Class B. I double checked on the official classification chart.” Makes me feel like I should apologize.
– Aaaaaaand…it smells like smoke.
– The Star Wars gun is the best part of this lot. My luck it would be a repo.
– Wow. A huge lot of 268 mixed figures that started at $9.99. Wow, cool.
– I have a weird feeling that the bidder is hoping it is a faded Purple #1.
– If you need a Color 4-pack, then this is a good choice.
– Listing a single Purple #208 is damning evidence that you know nothing about M.U.S.C.L.E. figures.
– I think this could be a re-seal. Too many figures. And do I see extra holes too?
– 47 Color figures staring at $0.99; always makes me smile.
– Happiness is a Flesh lot of 112 figures starting at $0.99.
– Well over a month later, with this item, I’m forced to admire the seller’s perseverance.
– I’ll bookend my apologetic feelings.

I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I wish I could bottle the happiness and excitement I see in my boys’ eyes during the holidays. It is intoxicating. I enjoy their bliss of unwrapping a gift they wanted, but didn’t expect, like a drug.

I am deathly serious when I say my toy collecting gene was probably activated by my own Christmas morning joy. That is the dragon I have been chasing. When I was scanning through M.U.S.C.L.E. auctions I was left with the feeling that people are forgetting that M.U.S.C.L.E. figures were toys. I think more and more people are believing they are “collectibles.”

That is why I want to share some hits and misses of the holiday season from my boys’ perspective. The far and away winner of the holidays was Battle of Jakku from Hot Wheels. I was as shocked as you probably are right now. They loved love it.

It is a very simple game. Ships spin around in a circle and you try to knock them off. I thought my youngest (5) might like it, but both boys were crazy about it. With their Christmas money they wanted to collect as many of the other ships as they could find (we learned that the weight of the various ships changes how easy or difficult it is to knock them off).

We lugged it to various places over the holidays, and every kid (and some adults) that played it also fell in love. I can’t really explain it. But if you have a young Star Wars fan in your life, then this might be a great gift idea. It’s just a fun toy – not at all collectible.

A few other really popular toys were:
– This Hot Wheels Track. Again, I was a bit surprised but they loved the crashes and that it could be connected to track we already had. They also liked that it could pit them against each other. I would also add that it gets loud with this toy. The toy is kind of loud, but I promise there will be lots of yelling and excitement. And if you have two boys, then probably some fighting too.
– Sleeping Queens. We are always looking for good games, and this is a great one. It is a little complex, but once you have the hang of it the kids (and even adults) will love it. I would suggest playing the first few games cards-up. It made learning the game much faster.
– Bounce-Off Blow-Out. My sister got this for the boys. Apparently it is different than the normal Bounce-Off. We never played the original, but we loved this version. Initially I thought she had bought my boys beer pong, but once we got playing I forgot all about it. I would have never bought this game, but I am glad she did. I would have thought it was too tough for my 5 year old. Wrong. It can also be played pretty quickly. If you’ve ever been stuck in a kids game you will know that it matters.

There really weren’t any “misses” this year except for one: Hexbug Nano v2 Black Hole set. Fuck this toy. It doesn’t work.

We had some of the other Hex Bug toys. They worked fine. These new ones were supposed to be able to climb. They do not climb. The boys weren’t even sad. They were angry. I was angry too. If the bugs can’t climb, then the entire toy is pointless. Do not buy the Hex Bug toys. The old, non-climbing ones were fine but the new ones do not work. Save your money – and spread the word. I would hate for other kids to get as angry as my boys got when they didn’t work.