I posted a review of the new MUSCLE-inspired line from October Toys: Z.O.M.B.I.E.s! As you all may know, I'm a huge zombie nut, and of course, I'm a huge MUSCLE fan, so this line sounds like it could be right up my alley. But you'll never know for sure unless you read on!

Labels: Misc, Updates

It's no April Fool's joke... this month marks the 10-year anniversary of Nathan's MUSCLE Page! If you want to relive Nathan's MUSCLE Page designs of yesteryear, check out the past site designs. And even though NMP is pretty long in the tooth, the best is yet to come: not only do I have more MUSCLE Archive updates that you can look forward to, there are also plenty of other ideas I've been mulling over in my head. Thanks for your patronage and here's to 10 more years!

Labels: Misc

ToyFare #128 is out today! Keep your eyes out for it because it has a good deal of MUSCLE coverage! The cover features animated Optimus Prime (thanks to mrjayberry and Zach for the correction).

I have had the opportunity to peruse the issue and it's great! It has a good, substantial 3-page article on MUSCLE as well as a MUSCLE price guide. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a MUSCLE head! And if you're not... what the crap are you doing on this site?

If you've just found this site because of this ToyFare, be sure to check out the MUSCLE Collecting FAQs. And after playing around on this site, you might want to check out the Little Rubber Guys forums, where the online MUSCLE community congregates.

Labels: Misc

Happy New Year! 2007 was a great year for MUSCLE-heads, especially us old-schoolers. Here's a quick review of the best MUSCLE-related stories featured on NMP this year:

Most Exciting MUSCLE News:
The MPS and MCW return! (Nov 20, Oct 18)
2007 was a great year for retro-MUSCLE fans! The MUSCLE Preservation Society, the first MUSCLE site on the 'Net, returned with an old-school style. And MUSCLE Championship Wrestling, with its awesomely-painted MUSCLEs (and disturbingly anatomically correct Lester), is back with a vengeance!

Runner up:
Kinnikuman Stores (Jun 27, Aug 6)
Few stories this year (MUSCLE or otherwise) generated more feedback than the announcement of this store in Tokyo that specializes in Kinnikuman Kinkeshi! And just a few months after that post, Soupie found Toy Zipangu, a store in NYC specializing in Keshi. Surely both are a virtual Shangri-La for MUSCLE fans!

Biggest MUSCLE Controversy:
Daddy Robin Mask Super-Rare (Jul 11)
In July, a new possible Super-Rare was spotted: King Robin Mask. Allegedly, the auction ended for over $900, but unfortunately we got no information from the winner regarding its true MUSCLE potential. Either it's a new MUSCLE Super-Rare, or somebody paid a lot of money for a Kinkeshi.

Most Well-Received MUSCLE Update:
My MUSCLE Childhood (Apr 7)
I found a bunch of drawings and my old diary in an antiquated box and posted them on the site. It turned out to be a pretty fun way to relive my childhood and I received a lot of positive feedback about it.

With the upcoming MUSCLE feature in February's ToyFare and the Kinnikuman DVD Boxed Set, this year is shaping up to be another good one for MUSCLE fans!

Labels: Misc

Soupie stumbled upon a Kinkeshi store here in the states called Toy Zipangu! Take it away, Soups!

My wife and I had just left a Japanese toy store that was selling mostly designer vinyl stuff when we stumbled upon TOY ZIPANGU! Right inside the door was a display case with a bunch of Kinkeshi and other keshi (keshigomu).

There was a Japanese girl behind the counter. When I exclaimed, "Look at all these keshi figures," the girl jumped out from behind the counter... She explained that she had had the shop in the East Village for 6 months and had never heard ANYONE use the word Keshi.

Apparently her brother, who owns the store in Manhattan, is a huge collector in Japan (it's not Naochin, I asked, haha). He works as a screen writer for Japanese TV programs. She showed me a video he made featuring tons of Keshi figures. She said she is a huge collector now, too. She lives in Manhattan and runs the store, and her brother sends her over figures to sell in the US. She said they really just want to share the love of Kinkeshis here in the US. She expressed her surprise that no one really seems interested in keshi here in the states because she thinks they are a superior type of toy -- and I agreed with her 100%.

Click on the image below to go to the Toy Zipangu website for contact information. Great find, Soupie!

Labels: Kinnikuman, Misc

Chogokin Jawa has this to add about the Kinnikuman store in Tokyo!

Please be informed that as of May 2007 it was still there in the Nakano mall ! It is one of the Mandarake shops of this mall and it is still dedicated to Kiinikuman. Unfortunately I couldn't take pics because it was forbidden.

So the Kinnikuman Shangri-La still exists! Thanks Chogokin Jawa! If you want to see some of his haul, check out this thread at the Little Rubber Guys forums. And you can check out a couple pics of the Kinnikuman store here.

Labels: Kinnikuman, Misc

Rez (who claims to be Tortle's illegitimate son, something which Tortle vehemently denies unless Rez is the result of his affair with Anna Nichole Smith) sent along a link to a Chikara DVD that has MUSCLE-inspired packaging! Check out this Indy wrestling DVD here!

Labels: Misc