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history behind the collectibles featured in this blog.
For Blog #228 we'll be looking at Toukon Shop's Champion's Faces collection.
Toukon Champion's Face
Released in 1998 by Toukon Shop, the Toukon Champion's Face line consisted of four
mini statues based on New Japan Pro-Wrestling's biggest stars from the era: Masahiro
Chono, Keiji Mutoh, Shinya Hashimoto and Kensuke Sasaki.
All four statues were made made of PVC material and measured about 15cm (just
under 6 inches in height).
The word "Toukon" means "fighting spirit". A term that has been associated with
New Japan Pro-Wrestling since the promotion's formation in 1972. A phrase that
was coined/made popular by NJPW founder and Wrestling legend Antonio Inoki.
The first statue is Masahiro Chono.
Chono's likeness is spot-on and quite realistic.
The base of the statue contains Masahiro Chono's name and Chono's ARISTRIST clothing
line logo.
I find it interesting that the ARTISTRIST website mentions that ARISTRIST was founded
in 2000, yet this statue was made two years prior in 1998. Hmmm...
I also like the cracked design on the right side of the base.
The black design is actually an extension of Toukon Shop's "bronze" series of figures;
figures that were meant to resemble bronze busts of historical figures.
The bronze approach is simply just a PVC figure completely coated in black paint.
Even Chono's strands of hair have been individually sculpted.
At the very bottom on the back of the Chono statue is a stamp that reads "(C) 1998
New Japan Pro-Wrestling".
The second figure is Shinya Hashimoto.
Shinya's era-accurate logo is also represented at the base of the statue.
Each statue came in a matching black box that was adorned with each Wrestler's specific
logo from the era.
The included page mentions there were actually four statues made and the sculptors who
made them. At the bottom of the page, the names read:
Masahiro Chono
Shinya Hashimoto
Keiji Mutoh
....and Kensuke Sasaki (a statue I've never seen myself).
Mutoh's appearance is based on his late 1990's NWO Japan-era attire; complete with
full beard and the Natural Born Master logo on the base of the statue.
Personally, I always found this Mutoh sculpt looks like former U.S. President Abraham
Lincoln.
The outer box of the Keiji Mutoh figure. Mutoh's NBM (Natural Born Master)
logo is once again visible.
Keiji Mutoh is the second figure in the Toukon Champion's Face series.
The figures are:
1. Masahiro Chono
2. Keiji Mutoh
3. Shinya Hashimoto
and (presumably) 4. Kensuke Sasaki.
Closing thoughts:
The Toukon Champion's Face line provided the most realistic face sculpts of New
Japan's biggest stars from the era converted into busts that looked great and were
inexpensive.
Beyond these mini statues, Toukon Shop also released a spinoff line called the
"Strong Style Heavy Class" and "Junior Class Bank" (the full article on these
sets can be read HERE<-----).
Does the Kensuke Sasaki statue exist in the wild? That I can't say. All I can provide at the
moment is Kensuke's appearance in the Strong Style coin bank sets.
In case you'd like to look for this particular line of statues yourself, the line is written as
闘魂チャンピオンズフェイス (Toukon Champion's Face).
More figure reviews to come!
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