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

Obviously the #154 figure.

Thank you. Thank you. Don’t forget to tip the waitstaff; they’re doing a great job tonight.

The popularity of one M.U.S.C.L.E. figure over another is perhaps the oldest M.U.S.C.L.E. discussion. It’s a debate you probably had on the playground and carried on into adulthood. I clearly remember the tournament we had on LRG. Can you believe that started on January 18th, 2008? Almost EXACTLY 11 years ago.

As I was writing AW #277 I was struck by the subjectivity of popularity. Well, the subjectivity of popularity after the #153 figure. I don’t think a valid case could be made that any M.U.S.C.L.E. figure is more popular than the #153 figure.

The best argument might be suggesting other figures cost more, thus they are more popular. But that seems like a pretty defeatable argument.

This year this silly little website turns 10 years old. I thought it would be fun to look back at the website. The 10 year anniversary posts will get the 10years tag. And I thought the tags might be an interesting way to judge figures’ popularity.

Again, obviously, the #153 figure was tagged most often. It had 105 tags, and it would be even higher if Epilogues were tagged.

There were five figures that were closely grouped after the #153 figure. I’ll present them in order, but I don’t think of it as a rank order of popularity. I see these five figures as the next most popular figures after the #153 figure. What was the next highest?

The #60 figure. It had 23 tags. Some early website contests helped increase this figure’s tag count, but he has proven to be an interesting figure to watch.

I remember this figure being popular as a kid. I think every kid referred to him as one of the “baby” figures. His popularity seemed to stick around into the early days of online M.U.S.C.L.E. collecting. But then it seemed like there was a backlash to him. Did anyone else ever feel that?

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More recently the figure seems most attention worthy for his price tag. Either what sellers are asking or what buyers are paying for Class A versions.

What figure as the most tags after the #60 figure? It is the #107 figure with 22 tags.

That makes sense to me. It is a cool sculpt and has two Class A versions. That’s a figure that will easily draw attention from hardcore collectors and casual collectors.

Do you guys remember this cool #107 story? Cesar let me borrow two figures to complete the pictures for the Figure Guide. That is just so awesome. I am still open to borrowing any of the Final Six. Someday I might own them, but I’d love to be able to finish the guide too.

For better or worse, that guide and Classes might be my M.U.S.C.L.E. legacy. It will be cool when I cross that finish line.

The #15 figure was next with 21 tags. The Purple Class A version of this figure is certainly noteworthy and popular. But this is one of the few figures I can remember creating army building collectors. That is pretty usual for M.U.S.C.L.E. figures.

The #107 and #15 representing the Sunshine sculpts makes a lot of sense to me. Although I can imagine a collector arguing #195 should replace one of the figures.

If you’re like me, then you probably wondered, “Well, how many tags does #195 have?”

Eight. That number is much, much lower than I would have expected over ten years. Maybe #107 and #15 are rightfully on top of the Sunshine mountain.

The #2 figure is next with 20 tags. Before I looked up these numbers I would have guess #2 would easily be in the top three. I was surprised to see him come in fourth, but since these all these figures are basically one tag apart – I wasn’t crazy wrong.

Without question my favorite #2 post is the ENVS 200 – 409 & Simple Green. I like that post. It also reminds me of my baking soda test, and I shared some background about that post in a SUS.

I guess the #2 figure reminds me of my grandmother. Wow. I didn’t know that until just now. It’s funny how after 10 years of playing with these silly little figures they have intertwined into my life in ways I never expected.

Besides my grandmother, when I think of the #2 figure I also think of the #1 figure. And the #1 figure is next with 19 tags.

The #1 figure hold a special place in my heart. As I look at these five figures I realize they all hold a special place in my heart.

Maybe they aren’t the five most popular. Maybe they are the five figures that make me happiest and I gravitate towards talking about them.

Or maybe I want people to read the website and I subconsciously think these figures will generate the most clicks. Who knows?

After talking about M.U.S.C.L.E. figures for 10 years I do think it is interesting to look at the results.

Wait! Wait! What figure had the next highest tag count?

Good question. It was #179 with 15 tags. Shocked? I was too. The four point differential seemed like a good break point.