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

Have I already pointed this out? I know I pointed out the live Satan Cross auction. Exactly as I suggested he made it too difficult. Satan Cross isn’t special. This dummy thought it was so special that he made it a live auction. He left money on the table because he got too cute.

It sold for $35 with one, single bid. Fucking dummy.

I hope the buyer is happy. He should be.

There are 190 auction listings as a write this post.
– Starts at $1 and there are “no bite marks.”
– If you read the entire post, then this is relevant.
– This 28-pack was stored underwater. Odd choice.
– $1 opening bid for 20 Flesh figures.
– I can entertain $20 for the entire board game set. Not this.
– Oh, come on.
– What makes a “Great Starter Set!”?
– Why isn’t this great? It has a Purple #208.
– I wonder how long this will be relisted? I wonder who holds that record?
– “Purple Muscle Men! 2! Rare!”
– “M.U.S.C.L.E. Muscle Men Toy Figure Lot of 2 USED year????” What?!?!

This is probably the auction listing that deserves the most attention. Do you think it is a legitimate Purple #153?

I don’t. I guarantee it is going to turn out one of the good bootlegs from a few years ago. I know I mentioned them several times, but this is the only link I can find.

Everything seems placed in that box too perfectly. The feedback seems odd. And the figure is coming from France, which is where the good bootlegs were made.

I hope I’m wrong, but I bet it is one of these.

– “rare HTF”. I read that and get a little angry. I try and temper my frustration by looking around my M.U.S.C.L.E. table. I ask myself, “Well, can you see one right now?” Yes, yes I can. It didn’t make me less angry.
– Ok, I’m done. I can’t take anymore BIN’s.

Some M.U.S.C.L.E. topics capture our attention and become permanent pieces of the hobby’s mosaic history. Others don’t. The AW #240 poll is probably in the latter category.

I thought it was kind of fun. I was wrong. At least nine of us liked it.

Maybe the just voting on two pictures wasn’t silly enough. Do you know what I’d really like to see?

Best single figure auction picture on eBay contest.

We’ve seen so many weird and/or terrible pictures over the years. Maybe we should just lean into it for once.

I like this idea. Cash prize. I must have something I can give away. Maybe hit up some friends for prizes? I think this has legs. And if it doesn’t, then I’ll keep the cash and prizes and laugh to myself.

Keep your eyes open for this contest. It’s happening.

I wanted to snap a picture for inspiration.

Before I keep talking about terrible pictures, I want to mention that I have an extra #5. Feel free to claim him in the Comments.

Back to the terrible pictures. I had mentioned that I was curious how sellers on eBay achieve such terrible pictures. I meant to attempt the pictures for last week’s Epilogue. It didn’t happen.

Since I was snapping a few pictures I thought I would give it a try. First, I’m not even bothering to post the pictures my phone took. They’re all great. I couldn’t snap a bad picture. I guess if you used a flip-phone, then you might be able to achieve the terribleness.

However, I think the bad pictures come from digital cameras. I think I even know the specific setting that results in the pictures. The camera is in it’s “automatic” setting, the only light comes from whatever light is in the room, and the flash is turned off. Here’s what I was able to achieve.

Example #1

Example #2

I don’t think people can keep still. Because of the low light the camera shutter stays open longer. I guarantee people don’t realize it, snap their pictures, and then post.

The mystery nobody asked to be solved is solved. It also makes me think we don’t have to worry about these pictures going away. You can rest easy tonight.

That’s the end. I’ve run out of things to say. But I have one last thing to show you. This gif feels like a weird Rorschach test to me.

What do you see when you look at it?