16d Collection Terry Funk figure review

 
Outside of the realms of WWE merchandising, Terry Funk has been included in numerous
figure lines over the years. Most prominently, the lion's share of those depictions can be
found overseas exclusively in Japan.

From POPY's iconic Superstars figure line to Clockworks' Beyond The Mat movie exclusive,
BoFord's Martial Arts Box collection, and even Bandai's seemingly endless assortment of
keshigomu eraser figures, fans of the Texas Bronco have plenty of figures to choose from.

Today, we'll be taking a look at the newest Terry Funk depiction from Japan. Blog #262
laces up against the 16d Collection Terry Funk sofubi figure.

Legendary rivals reunite in the 16d line.

While most of the Terry's figures veer towards the tail-end on the Dirty Funker's career as a
hardcore legend, this particular figure is based on Terry's late 1970's - early 1980's run in All
Japan Pro-Wrestling.

At the time, Terry and his brother Dory Funk Jr. were considered two of the promotion's top
foreign babyfaces.

Terry's name is written on the front of his jacket. Though, if collectors want to appreciate the
writing clearly, they'll have to rotate Terry's arms. Like the 16d Giant Baba figures, I found
moving Terry's arms to be very quite tedious at first. Though, with a little persistence, it is
possible.

Another thing I discovered that the GoodSmile shop doesn't tell you is that Terry's wrists are
also articulated; both being able to rotate a full 360 degrees.

In terms of articulation, Terry features movable arms, wrists, neck and waist.

'Texas Broncos' is written on the back of Terry's entrance jacket.

In the world of Puroresu, The Funks' bomber jackets from this era are considered holy grails
among collectors. Often times selling for thousands of dollars to diehard fans.

The Great Kabuki himself was gifted one of these jackets by Dory Funk Jr. himself, along with
one of Stan Hansen's iconic cowboy hats. Two treasures the legend displays in his BIG DADDY restaurant in Japan.





Like most 16d figures, the sole of Terry's boots contains a copyright from the Wrestler himself.
In Funk's case, the license is a posthumous one; being the first figure released after Terry's
passing.

The side of the packaging reveals Terry's profile:

D.O.B.: July 30th, 1944
Birthplace: America, Indiana
Debut: December 9th, 1965
Height/Weight: 188cm (6'2), 118kg (260lbs)
Signature moves: Spinning Toe Hold, Rolling Cradle, Texas Clover Hold
(Texas Cloverleaf).


Closing thoughts:

After years of waiting, it's nice to see Terry finally added to the 16d line. Like a majority
of HAO's craftmanship, I feel the 16d figure depiction is one of the most realistic representations
of Terry to date. Terry's resemblance is spot-on in soft vinyl form.

Here's hoping we'll get Dory Funk Jr. (who just earned the distinction of being the oldest Wrestler
to Wrestle at the age of 83) along with other gaijin legends added to the 16d line in the future.

16d Great Muta figures review

Today, we're returning back to a familiar destination with 16d's soft vinyl series. Blog #203
applies the Muta Lock on the 16d Collection Great Muta figures.

On October 13th, 2020 Japanese toymaker 16 Directions announced the upcoming release
of The Great Muta as part of the company's soft vinyl figure collection.
                                     

A video of the 16d Great Muta figure prototype that was uploaded on October 19th, 2020.

Great Muta would be officially released three months later in January of 2021; becoming the
16th Wrestler overall to be featured in the 16d Collection.

I like how both figure variants come in different packages while mentioning the specific
figure variant in Japanese.

The front of the packaging for both variants translates to:

グレート・ムタ                         (Great Muta
90年代赤ペイント Ver.              90's Red Paint Ver.)

グレート・ムタ                        (Great Muta
90年代白ペイント Ver.             90's White Paint Ver.)


        


The left side of each variant's respective packaging. Again featuring different shots
of both figures.

The right side of the packaging contains Muta's stats and a brief dossier.

The text reads:


"PROFILE
.................................
Date of birth: Unknown
Birthplace: Louisiana, United States
Height/Weight: 188cm (6'2") / 110kg (242lbs)
Debut: April 2nd, 1989 (As The Great Muta)
Signature moves: Poison Mist, Muta Lock, Muta Chop"

In actuality, Great Muta's "birthplace" and debut happened a month prior on March 12th 1989
against Cougar Jay in Atlanta, Georgia.

The backs of both packages.

I'm pretty sure the sculpt for the 16d Great Muta figures were heavily inspired by this photo.

The tops of both packages. Unlike the Abdullah The Butcher or Jushin Thunder Liger 16d figures,
there are no coloured stickers placed on the top of the boxes to help differentiate figure variants.

The bottom of both boxes contains the standard safety precautions, 16d's parent company,
the material of the vinyl figures and a copyright licensing from Keiji Mutoh's new merchandising
company and online store MUTO OFFICE.

Now, on to the figures themselves:

The Great Muta 16d figures are based on The Great Muta's early 1990's New Japan Pro-Wrestling
appearance and were created by renown figure sculptor HAO (Keiichi Hao).

The white paint variant is listed as an online exclusive.

I especially love Muta's sculpted pose here. With the green teeth and tongue, Muta is ready to
spray his patented Poison Mist!

The white paint variant contains the following text on the figure's right pant leg:

"愚 Gu
  零 Rei
  闘 Tou
  武 Mu
  多 Ta

Put all the Japanese kanji together and you have "Great Muta".

The Kanji on Muta's right cheek reads "忍" (Shinobi); a reference to Muta's Ninja characteristics.

The white paint variant has a noticeably larger version of the Kanji scrawled across Muta's cheek.

While the red paint version has a ninja star on both wristbands, the white paint variant has the
kanji "Shinobi" repeated once again on Muta's right wristband.

The Kanji on the left side of Muta's cheek reads "炎" (fire, flames).

Along the red variant's pants, the same text (Great Muta) has been written in black.

Both variants contain finger tape. The white variant also contains the kanji "Fire/Flames" on
the figure's right wristband (parallel to the same kanji on the white version's face).

If you look closely, you may notice Muta's bicep scar, too!






The Great Muta 16d figures stand approximately 12.5 cm (4.9 inches) tall.







The sole of both figures contains Keiji Mutoh's MUTO OFFICE stamp.


            
Both figure variants are articulated at the left arm, neck and waist. The right arm (while still
slightly poseable) is pretty much fixed in place.



In Super Fire Pro Wrestling III Final Bout/Easy Type (1993) on the Super Famicom, Blade
Musha (Great Muta)'s white and red attire is featured as the 2nd player costume. The same
costume is also available as Muta's fourth attire in the follow up title Super Fire Pro Wrestling
Special (1994).

Using the Edit mode, it is also possible to recreate Muta's white and red attire in Super Fire Pro
Wrestling X/X Premium (1996).

Other than a few unofficial video game appearances, this is the first time the Great Muta
received a figure in his white and red ring attire colours.

The last time Great Muta's classic facepaint look was sculpted by HAO was in the mid 2000's
as part of HAO's black card series.

Scale-wise, the HAO Great Muta figure stands noticeably taller at about 6 to 7 inches in height
when compared to it's 16d counterparts.

The HAO version (while removing articulation in Muta's neck) offers two extra points of
articulation from the wrists.


Closing thoughts:

When I first began collecting Wrestling figures from Japan, the two brands that I started with
were Character Product's Mini Big Heads and Toukon Shop's action figures. Then I purchased
my first HAO figure (The Great Muta classic facepaint black card series ver.) and was blown
away.

Whereas most Japanese action figures stand about 5 inches tall, I wasn't prepared for the HAO
figures which regularly stand between 6 to 8 inches in height. The attention to detail, figures
available and resealable packaging instantly converted me into a fan of HAO's work.

While the 16d figures aren't as tall as the original HAO ones from nearly 20 years ago, they
still contain the same charm and attitude of their taller counterparts. The same can be said
for the 16d Great Muta figures. A cooler pose, better facial expression and two variants
to collect. What's not to like?

When I reviewed the Genichiro Tenryu retirement figure back in 2017, I praised the overall
design of HAO's work and welcomed the idea of more figures being produced in this style.
Ten days later, Tetsuya Naito was announced as the first official figure in the 16d lineup and
the 16d Collection line has continued to gain momentum ever since.

16d Abdullah The Butcher figures review

On February 2nd, 2019, six Japanese Pro-Wrestling promotions (All Japan Pro-Wrestling,
New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, Pro-Wrestling NOAH, WRESTLE-1
and Tenryu Project) joined forces for one special event.

In Japanese, the event was called: "ジャイアント馬場 没20年追善興行 王者の魂"
(rough translation: "Giant Baba Memorial Performance 20 Years After His Death -
Soul of a Champion"). A high-profile show that was held at Japan's famous Ryōgoku
Kokugikan arena.

As the name implied, the event marked the 20th anniversary of All Japan Pro-Wrestling's
founder and Pro-Wrestler Giant Baba's passing on January 31st, 1999. Giant Baba's
20th anniversary memorial event also served a dual purpose: the retirement ceremony
of one of Giant Baba's biggest rivals: Abdullah The Butcher.

Abdullah's part of the poster reads: "アブドーラ・ザ・ブッチャー引退記念～さらば
呪術師～" ("Abdullah the Butcher Retirement Commemoration - Farewell, Magician" -
a nod to Abdullah's Japanese nickname "Kuroi Jujutsushi" or "Black Magician/Shaman").

For our next figure review, we'll be looking at two figures that were first introduced at the
Giant Baba 20th anniversary event. Blog #193 goes for blood with the 16d Collection
Abdullah The Butcher soft vinyl figures.

                    
Before the Giant Baba memorial event, Japanese Distributor Ingram (https://www.ingram.co.
jp/properties/legend.php) released the above promotional photo featuring six Wrestling legends
who were under contract for future merchandising.

The legends are Tiger Mask, Genichiro Tenryu, Akira Maeda, Stan Hansen, Riki Choshu and
Abdullah The Butcher (pictured in a very uncommon shot of Abdullah wearing a full Karate
Gi).

At the time, I didn't know what would come of this licensing agreement.

Then, a few hours after Giant Baba's memorial event, this was one of the very first photos of
the Abdullah The Butcher figure (in prototype form) that made it's way to the web.

Was it a prototype? A really well-done fan custom?

Two promotional ads that were distributed at the Giant Baba memorial show. The second advert
promotes a replica Triple Crown Championship belt set for sale through the legendmaster.jp
website.

An ad promoting three of 16d's legend figures at the time: Andre The Giant, Abdullah The Butcher
and Riki Choshu.


On March 19th, 2019, 16d posted the Abdullah The Butcher figure variants for pre-order with
a planned release date set in August of 2019.

Let's take a look at both variants:

First up is the red variant.

Adullah The Butcher would be the seventh figure added to the 16d Collection line (as numbered
"PVC 007" on the packaging). Next to Andre The Giant, Abdullah would be the second figure in
the 16d line to be based on a Pro-Wrestling legend (third if you want to count the retirement
commemorative Genichiro Tenryu figures sculpted by HAO).

The left side of Abdullah's packaging reads:

"PROFILE
.............................................
D.O.B.: January 11th, 1941.
Birthplace: Canada
Height/Weight: 186cm (6'1)/ 150kg (330lbs)
Debut: 1961
Signature moves: Hell Thrust (chop to throat), Poison Needle Elbow Drop, Weapon Attack"

Besides Larry Shreve (the real name of Abdullah The Butcher) coming from Windsor, Ontario,
Canada, I don't know why 16d decided to stick with "Canada" instead of The Sudan in Butcher's
profile.

In the bottom left corner, the figure contains the text "(C) Abdullah The Butcher" as these
figures were officially licensed by the man himself.

The back of the packaging features two great shots of the Abdullah figure. You can tell 16d
takes great pride in their work.

The right side of the packaging. Another good shot of the Butcher.

The only difference in packaging between both of the Abdullah figure variants is a small
sticker on top of both boxes. The red dot indicates the red attire variant while the black dot
represents the black attire version.

Personally, I find using the same packaging for both variants a bit lazy on 16d's behalf.

The bottom of the packaging contains standard safety precautions along with 16d's parent
company Jyurokuhoui (jyurokuhoui.jp which just redirects to https://16d.jp/).

Abdullah The Butcher is listed under copyright along with the figure's material being
listed as soft vinyl.

The Abdullah The Butcher 16d figures are based on Abdullah's late 70's - early 1980's
appearance.

While under the 16d banner, the Abdullah figures themselves were sculpted by renown
Japanese figure maker HAO.


Photo credit: Pro-Wrestling Illustrated

The 16d figure variants also contain Abdullah's goatee from the era.

Abdullah The Butcher would be the first figure in the 16d line to include a removable
accessory. In this case, Abdullah's Arabian hood entrance attire.

I like how the hoods are sculpted as if they are flowing in the wind. In Japan, Abdullah's
theme "One Of These Days by Pink Floyd" is also called "Call Me Arashi" arashi
meaning storm in Japanese. A theme that starts off with plenty of wind.

           


The last time an Abdullah The Butcher figure came bundled with Abdullah's Arabian hood
accessory was fifteen years prior in the form of 2004's Character Product DX figure variants.

Like the Character Product DX figures, Abdullah comes in two colour variants. Red pants
with black highlights and black pants with red highlights.

If you look closely, you'll notice the red version contains a touch of blue for Abdullah's pants
pockets. I also like the added detail provided to the red variant's boots. It's little things like
these which help 16d stand apart from other figure makers.

The 16d Abdullah The Butcher figures are sculpted in Abdullah's signature "Hell Thrust"
(chop to the throat) attack.

A similar sculpt appeared in Abdullah's Character Product DX figure (black pants ver.).

For years, I often remarked that Character Product contained the most realistic Abby head sculpt.
I think that mantle has since been passed to 16d with their phenomenal work here.

Of course, Abdullah's famous head scars are also present and more accurate than the Character
Product versions.
              

The 16d Abdullah The Butcher figures stand 13.5 cm (5.3 inches) tall.

Articulation-wise, the Abdullah figures are articulated at the arms, waist and neck.

One of the glaring oversights to the Abdullah figure, in my opinion, is the lack of a fork
accessory. Especially considering Abdullah's left hand is perfect for holding one.


      
                                                        Abdullah's Hell Thrust in action!



Closing thoughts:

One figure that I always wanted in the original HAO Collection line was Abdullah
The Butcher. The writing seemed on the wall with HAO's 2008 "Regards For
Superstars" series that added Stan Hansen, Giant Baba and two versions of Akira
Maeda to HAO's figure lineup.

         
The Abdullah The Butcher 16d figures are officially licensed by the Butcher himself.

While not as big scale-wise as HAO's original Wrestling figures from 2003-2008
(and with Abdullah not having any figures released in Japan beyond 2005), I never
thought we'd actually see another Japanese figure of The Madman From Sudan.




But, if the squared circle has taught us anything it's to never underestimate
the power of Pro-Wrestling.


In Japan, Abdullah's retirement ceremony culminated with the Butcher being greeted
by some of his biggest rivals such as Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, Stan Hansen, Dory
and Funk Jr., along with special guests Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) and Keiji Mutoh.

The memorial event was also highlighted by a supershow held between the six aforem
-entioned promotions. The standout performance for me personally was seeing All Japan
veteran "The Outlaw" Joel Deaton (also known as "Thunderfoot #1") get back into a
Japanese ring after 13 years and drop a vicious lariat.

If you love old school Wrestling stories and are a fan of AJPW's glory years, I highly
recommend adding Joel on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/joel.jones.1612).

Overall, the Abdullah The Butcher figures are well made, come with plenty of detail
and contain the most realistic depiction of the Butcher to date. My only real complaint
is lack of a fork accessory that should have been included with either variant.

More reviews coming your way!