Starting in 2003, Japanese toymaker Character Product came up with the ingenious idea
of shrinking down their full-sized action figures into minifigure format.
A few figures made by Character Product/Toukon Shop that were shrunken down into
Mini Big Head scale.
The line was dubbed the Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head Figures line. A collection
of minifigures based on Wrestlers from NJPW, AJPW, K-1, PANCRASE, Pro-Wrestling
NOAH, Dragon Gate, Osaka Pro and other notable promotions throughout Japan.
The original Mini Big Head line ran from 2003 to 2007 with a total of nine"Volumes"
released in the process.
Initially, the Pro-Kaku Heroes series was a major success in Japan. The first Volume
was reported to have sold out in record time prompting Character Product to release
a follow-up volume (Vol. 1.5.) to appease customer demand.
With Character Product no longer in business and no new Mini Big Head series'
released since the late 2000's, fans of the line have continued to create their own
custom figures. Modern repaints of older figures. Legends missing from the original
line, and even modern superstars - all in Mini Big Head scale.
For Blog #206, let's take a look at some amazing, fan-created Mini Big Head customs.
The first batch of custom figures comes in the form of Great Muta mods. Most of which
are just recolours of Great Muta's Vol. 9. (classic facepaint Muta ver.) figure.
The highlight of this set is the Great Muta WCW entrance attire custom that uses Great
Muta's Vol. 6. (Darth Muta) body and Keiji Mutoh's Vol. 7. head sculpt. The Gold paint
Muta also stands out, too.
This Great Muta repaint features the head of the Vol. 7. Keiji Mutoh and Vol. 4. Great Muta
body sculpt repainted to resemble Muta's classic 90's look.
NWO Japan
The Pro-Kaku Heroes series had the Team 2000 stable. But, what if you could collect the
members of NWO Japan?
Imposter Sting (using Akira Hokuto's body from Vol. 4.)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (Vol. 1./1.5. head with Vol. 4.'s TAKA Michinoku body),
Masahiro Chono (Vol. 4. head with Yoshihiro Takayama's Vol. 6. body),
Great Muta (Vol. 9. head and Vol. 4. body),
Scott Norton,
Hiro Saito (looks like a custom head with Brother Jamal's body from Vol. 6.)
Heisei Ishingun
This Koshinaka-led stable was never fully-appreciated in Mini Big Head format ...until now!
Akitoshi Saitoh (looks like Kantaro Hoshino's head from Vol. 5. with Taru's body from Vol. 6.)
Kuniaki Kobayashi (Vol. 7. head with Musashi's body from Vol. 2.),
Shiro Koshinaka (Vol. 6. head with Antonio Inoki's Vol. 4. body),
The Great Kabuki (Vol. 5. head touched up with Lioness Asuka's body from Vol. 8),
Kengo Kimura (Vol. 7. head with Musashi's Vol. 2. body),
and Masashi Aoyagi (Takeshi Rikio's Vol. 3. head with Musashi's Vol. 2. body)
UWF
This next custom Mini Big Head set pays tribute to the 1980's U.W.F. promotion. A shoot
-fighting promotion that helped pave the way for the commercial boom of Mixed Martial
Arts in Japan.
The Tiger (the shoot-fight repackaging of the original Tiger Mask
Satoru Sayama, looks like Kensuke Sasaki's Vol. 4. body),
Nobuhiko Takada (in his pre-purple ring attire, using Minoru Suzuki's Vol. 1. body),
Yoshiaki Fujiwara (lighter skinned repaint using Osamu Kido's Vol. 5. body),
and Akira Maeda (using Yoshihiro Takayama's Vol. 6. body).
Big Van Vader
While Big Van Vader was actually included in Vol. 9., Vader's mastodon ring attire wasn't.
This custom uses the body of Giant Bernard (Albert/A-Train/Lord Tensai) with the Big
Van Vader BoFord IWGP Champions minifigure head sculpt.
A figure so cool, it should have been included in the original line.
Ultimo Dragon
This Mexican design was already featured in the Ultimo Dragon 20th Anniversary set, but not
quite like this.
One talented painter went out of there to repaint Ultimo Dragon's Vol. 6. Mini Big Head to
feature the same mexican colours ...but paired with Ultimo's Asai Moonsault. Outstanding work!
The Fabulous Freebirds
For those of you who wish more American Wrestlers were added to the Mini Big Head line,
perhaps one of America's most popular tag teams of the 1980's might be of interest to you.
Terry Gordy (with what looks like an updated Terry Gordy head sculpt from Vol. 9.
mixed with the body of Seiji Sakaguchi from Vol. 7.)
Michael P.S. Hayes (with the body that looks like Hiroshi Tanahashi from Vol. 1 and 1.5.
or Gran Hamada from Vol. 7.)
Buddy Roberts (with the body of Vol. 5.'s Osamu Kido)
The Road Warriors
These were some of the very first Mini Big Head customs that I came across; one of
the most dominant tag teams in all of Professional Wrestling: The Road Warriors/Legion
of Doom!
Road Warrior Animal is a repaint of Vol. 6's Giant Bernard/Albert with an added mohawk.
Road Warrior Hawk is a repaint of Vol. 6's Takao Omori with added hair.
Some head sculpts are harder to figure out with the amount of modding some custom makers
do. Such is the case with this version of The Road Warriors and their manager Paul Ellering.
Road Warrior Animal (using Takeshi Morishima's body from Vol. 3.)
Paul Ellering (using a Jerome LeBanner body from Vol. 2. and Masahiro Chono head sculpt
from Vol. 4.)
Road Warrior Hawk (using the body of Masato Tanaka from Vol. 6. with the head of Takao
Omori from Vol. 6. as well).
Jun Kasai
The hardcore icon uses Vol. 1./1.5's Yuji Nagata body and even includes Kasai's entrance
goggles.
Harley Race
This expertly painted custom pays tribute to "Handsome" Harley Race.
Harley uses the body of Vol. 7's Seiji Sakaguchi with Vol. 5.'s Masa Saitoh head sculpt.
Killer Khan
Volume 5's Killer Khan is given a brand new makeover with added hair, entrance attire
and even a removable Mongolian hat!
The body looks like Kensuke Sasaki's from Vol. 4. or Jumbo Tsuruta's from Vol. 5.
Mike Tyson
While the Pro-Kaku Heroes line paid tribute to the Wrestlers and Mixed Martial Artists who
made a considerable impact in Japan, that didn't stop one custom maker from re-imagining
Iron Mike Tyson in Mini Big Head scale.
Mike Tyson uses the body of Musashi from Vol. 2. and the head sculpt of Ernesto
Hoost from Vol. 2.
Great Muta (modern)
Using a Vol. 6. Great Muta body and a Vol. 9 Great Muta head, Muta's more-recent
Chinese Dragon attire has been recreated.
Bam Bam Bigelow
Bam Bam uses the body of Aja Kong from Vol. 8. and what looks like the head of Bob Sapp
from Vol. 2.
Tarzan Goto
If you wished the Mini Big Head series had more hardcore legends besides Atsushi Onita,
Masato Tanaka, Megumi Kudo and Hayabsa, you're in luck!
Kendo Nagasaki (Kazuo Sakuraba)
This Japanese hardcore legend uses the body of Kokushi Muso from Vol. 1. and 1.5.
Lou Thesz
One glaring omission from the Mini Big Head line's batch of legendary Wrestlers was
Lou Thesz.
Lou Thesz uses Rikidozan's Vol. 5. body complete with the very belt Rikidozan would
win from Thesz; the NWA International Heavyweight Championship.
Koji Kitao
Another controversial Wrestler who only had one figure made in his entire Wrestling
career (a capsule figure from Banpresto's "Real Figure in Battledome" series from
1996).
Kitao is sculpted in his early Wrestling career attire. The body is Volume 6's Takao Omori.
The head looks like Volume 3's Takeshi Morishima.
Tetsuya Naito
Another inclusion that would make for the perfect 2021 Mini Big Head reboot would be
Tetsuya Naito. Naito uses Vol. 5.'s Kantaro Hoshino body and head.
The Steiner Brothers
Another popular 90's tag team that would have stood out in the Mini Big Head series
would have been The Steiner Brothers.
Rick Steiner cleverly uses Gary Albright's head and body from Vol. 9. while Scott Steiner uses
Vol. 6.'s Takao Omori body (the head looks original).
Closing thoughts:
Character Product's Mini Big Heads line originally ended in 2007. A few spin-off figures such
as the Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanashi two-packs or the Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi
Tanahashi pre-order exclusives were made post 2007 to promote upcoming NJPW events/
merchandise releases.
Since then, fans have taken it upon themselves to keep the Mini Big Head series alive and well
with custom figures regularly popping up at auction on a weekly basis.
If you'd like to look up more custom Mini Big Heads on your own, I recommend checking out
the Japanese auction site Yahoo auctions Japan
Yahoo auctions Japan official site: https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/
Use the keywords: プロ格ヒーローズ (Pro-Kaku Heroes)
No comments:
Post a Comment