Venturing into super-obscure territory once again, our next Japanese figure coverage encompasses
a selection of penny racers that are based on the Michinoku Pro-Wrestling promotion. Going
where no other Wrestling blog has gone before, Blog #231 speeds off with PRO-GRESSA's
Michinoku Pro-Wrestling Choro-Q car line.
What is "Choro-Q"?
Choro-Q is the name of a pull-back car toy line developed by Japanese toymaker TAKARA.
TAKARA began releasing the Choro-Q line back in 1978. In the west, these toys are referred
to as "penny racers".
The first car features the body of a Nissan Skyline. A make that was built between 1983-1985.
The top of the car features the Michinoku Pro-Wrestling logo on the hood.
While the Choro-Q line was made by TAKARA, Michinoku Pro-Wrestling's main toymaker
in the early 2000's was PRO-GRESSA.
The red variant of the Nissan Skyline features doors that open and no antenna on the roof.
Again, the Michinoku Pro-Wrestling logo is on the front hood.
The next variant is the Nissan Skyline GTR; which comes in a yellow variant.
The front of the model may not have coloured-in headlights, but it does have an added grill
with "GTR" written.
The hood can open up and there's a decal of The Great Sasuke on the roof!
The next variant is the Skyline GTR blue version.
Michinoku Pro-Wrestlong logo on hood? Check.
I have to hand it to PRO-GRESSA, even between similar car makes, there's subtle
differences which helps each car stand out.
The blue GTR version contains the most detailed grill with coloured headlights.
Beyond the primary RBGY colour versions, there's also the rare gold variant.
The gold version is said to be a mail-order exclusive. Order forms to obtain this gold
version were included with PRO-GRESSA's SOFUBICCHI figure line (a line of
mystery box minifigures).
The gold version is basically an update of the yellow Nissan Skyline with a gold
paint job and the text "SASUKE" written on the hood.
On average, the gold variant sells for about double the going rate of the standard
Michinoku Choro-Q cars.
The bottom of the gold variant. Contains the Choro-Q logo along with the specific car
make "SKYLINE GTR". TAKARA's logo and the stamped date of '85 (when Takara
originally manufactured the Nissan Skyline toy) is included.
Confusingly, I have no idea why Pro-Gressa decided to go use an older car make for
a Michinoku toy line that came out in the early 2000's.
The green version has a second variant with a black roof.
The Michinoku Pro-Wrestling logo is written on the front in white text while the number
"31" is written on the doors.
The trunk contains the NISSAN logo in white text. Strangely, the PRO-GRESSA logo
is missing on the back plate.
If you thought the gold version was the only exclusive, think again!
Like other PRO-GRESSA toy lines, this variant was only available at the Wonderland
Market Toy Show in Yokohama, Japan back in 2000.
Being an event exclusive, the 10th anniversary version has an improved window
packaging (the other versions simply came in a standard, cardboard box).
The next limited edition variant is the 10th anniversary version; which includes a signed
Date of 2000.7.23 (July 23rd, 2000 - the 10 year celebration of The Great Sasuke's debut
as a Pro-Wrestler).
PRO-GRESSA's logo ever-present.
The bottom of the chrome version contains "Skyline" written in Japanese Katakana
along with the stamped dates '80 and '98 (I'm guessing Takara also re-released this
specific model on their own back in 1998 as well).
Next up is the black version. Don't mind the "Limited Edition" text (just about every
Michinoku Choro-Q car had this box design).
This time around, the Nissan logo is on the front windshield.
Collectors should also keep an eye out for this extra special yellow variant that
includes decals of the PRO-GRESSA and Michinoku Pro-Wrestling logos
along with an illustration of Tiger Mask IV!
The corner of the included acrylic display case contains the Michinoku Pro-Wrestling
logo.
The bottom of the display case's base contains an engraved PRO-GRESSA logo.
The tenth figure variant gives us a breath of fresh air with a Michinoku Pro-Wrestling
tour bus!
A common trend in figures at the time, promotions like NJPW and Pro-Wrestling NOAH
were releasing replicas of the very same tour buses both promotions used to shuffle
around their talent from town to town.
The top of the bus contains the same Great Sasuke decal.
The eleventh variant is another tour bus with a more modern black and orange colour scheme.
The twelfth variant looks just like the limited edition gold mail-away version ,,,but without
the gold paint.
This version appears to be equipped with Dunlop tires.
A close-up of the Great Sasuke graphic on the roof.
The thirteenth variant is a purple Skyline with a yellow stripe design.
The purple version is the second variant to come in an updated window package;
which makes me question if this example was also an event exclusive.
The fourteenth variant is an update of the green version with black roof. Though, this time
around, the black roof and lower portions of the Skyline have been replaced with a silver
paint job.
Another minor difference is the "skyline" text written on the front windshield.
The fifteenth variant features an orange stripe that runs throughout the body and window
packaging.
The sixteenth variant is white version emblazoned with Michinoku's Super J-Cup
tournament decals. Even the packaging has been updated to include graphics of
the Super J-Cup.
The seventeenth variant is another blue version updated with Super J-Cup decals.
The eighteenth variant is the third Super J-Cup exclusive with gold colouring.
Number nineteen is the Super J-Cup red variant.
The twentieth variant (starting to feel dizzy too, eh?) is the green version with silver stripe.
The twenty-first version is metallic red with the text "EDAMAME".
The twenty-second version came packaged as a two-figure gift set with PRO-GRESSA's
super-deformed Great Sasuke sofubi figure.
This particular make is a black car with a gold EDAMAME logo.
The Great Sasuke figure features a crude paint job compared to the standardize
version included in PRO-GRESSA's super-deformed series. There certainly is less
of a sheen to this mail-away figure.
The mail-away Sasuke figure also includes a special, silver base to stand on.
The Japanese text on the packaging reads "
非売品 プログレッサ" (
not for sale goods PRO-
GRESSA) along with the Michinoku Pro-Wrestling logo in green on the right.
In my experience, any figure marked "not for sale" was usually given out as either a prize
item (in the case of the Roller Tron crane prizes, for example) or a mail-away offer (in
which PRO-GRESSA were known for including in their blind box figures).
The real highlight is the included Tiger Mask IV figure from PRO-GRESSA's SOFUBICCHI
line (a group of soft vinyl figures that were randomly inserted in blind box fashion).
The blind box version included purple pants, this
special repaint features Tiger Mask wearing
red pants.
The not-for-sale Choro-Q car included with the Tiger Mask IV figure depicts a blue
Nissan Skyline with white accents. The hood contains the EDAMAME logo again.
I'm guessing EDAMAME was a sponsor for Michinoku Pro-Wrestling around 2000.
The back contains a coloured-in example of the PRO-GRESSA logo. It seems the
PRO-GRESSA logo depicts a cat giving a thumb up.
The Choro-Q and TAKARA logos are featured on the bottom of the car.
The twenty-third variant was a 2001 exclusive two-pack that contains a bronze tour bus and
matching Great Sasuke figure from PRO-GRESSA's Super-deformed figure line.
The twenty-fourth variant was released in 2001 and includes a glossy base, a tree
design and the text "2001 The Great Sasuke Michinoku Pro-Wrestling PRO-GRESSA".
Photo credits: akionogarage.com
Last but not least...
The Michinoku Pro-Wrestling Mercedes-Benz SSK model car by PRO-GRESSA.
Credit: yosshinori_0804 for the extra photos and information. The included base reads "Michinoku Pro-Wrestling" and the Kanji in the top right corner
reads "limited edition", while the kanji in the bottom left reads "celebration". This model
was meant to also celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Great Sasuke's ring debut.
みちのくプロレス チョロQ
The specific model is based on the Mercedes-Benz SSK; a car that was manufactured
between 1928-1932.
The bottom of the prototype reads TAKARA 2002; making the SSK presumably one of the
last figures PRO-GRESSA made for Michinoku Pro-Wrestling.
The SSK came with a blind box packaging that was recycled from PRO-GRESSA's super
deformed line. The packaging even reads "DEFORMED Sofubi figure". The only difference
is an added sticker that roughly translates to "The Great Sasuke 10 year anniversary of debut".
The reason for the shoddy packaging can be explained simply by the fact that the SSK
was a prototype figure that was never made available to the general public.
In fact, there are only FIVE known examples of this figure making it the absolute rarest
Choro-Q Michinoku Pro-Wrestling figure ever created!
Closing thoughts:
So, there you have it. A staggering twenty-five (25) different car variants all tied in with
Michinoku Pro-Wrestling. Did we leave any out?
Toy fair exclusives, special repaints, mail-away offers, PRO-GRESSA covered all of their
bases and kept churning out one repaint after the other.
If you'd like to look up Michinoku's Choro-Q series yourself, you can use the following
Japanese keywords:
チョロＱ みちのくプロレス (Choro-Q Michinoku Pro-Wrestling)
プロ・グレッサ チョロＱ (PRO-GRESSA Choro-Q)
