On March 16th 2006, Character Product released their sixth volume of
Mini Big Head Figures.
In a follow up to Vol. 4.'s great assortment of Wrestlers, Vol. 6. featured
a variety of modern talent from Japanese promotions such as Dragon
Gate, All Japan, Pancrase, Osaka Pro and ZERO1.
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| The Vol. 6. 15 figure hobby box. |
In total, Vol. 4. would consist of 18 regular figures plus 1 secret figure:
Flexing their licensing muscle, the first figures for Vol. 6. are of
mixed martial artists Yuki Kondo and Sanae Kikuta who are
notable fighters from the Japanese Pancrase promotion.
Both figures' attires are based on their 2003 Hybrid Wrestling match.
The Yuki Kondo Mini Big Head figure was also released as a full size
figure complete with Pancrase Championship belt; while Sanae
Kikuta's Mini Big Head is the only figure to contain Kikuta's ring
attire.
Next up is the bat holding TARU, the tassel-flexing Shuji Kondo
and the bird-flipping "Brother" YASSHI!
TARU's design contains a surprising amount of detail stretching
from TARU's arm Tattoos to the decal on his pants.
TARU is also one of the few Mini Big Heads to feature a weapon
accessory.
The variety of licenses continue with the flamboyant Milano Collec-
tion A.T., New Japan veteran Shiro Koshinaka and Lord Tensai/
Albert /A-Train himself: "Giant Bernard"!
Giant Bernard (as he was known in Japan) comes with plenty of
piercings and tattoos. Bernard would be the token Gaijin of Vol. 6.
The Milano Collection Mini Big Head contains plenty of decals on
the front and back of his ring trunks and entrance attire. A.T. also
features an invisible dog leash for his invisible dog "Mikeru"!
Shiro Koshinaka is sculpted in his signature "Hip Attack" pose (a
move Koshinaka popularized). This would be the only Mini Big
Head to feature this pose.
The Pro-Wrestling NOAH tag team "NO FEAR" is also represented
with three separate figures.
The front of Takao Omori's ring trunks contains the initials "W H"
with a heart decal meant to represent Omori's nickname "Wild Heart".
Yoshihiro Takayama's second Mini Big Head is one of the few
figures from the entire series that includes a removable ring
base. Takayama's left leg contains a small peg which can
connect to the ring base allowing Takayama to literally climb
over the ring ropes!
The last Mini Big Head to feature this type of base was
Vol. 1's First Generation Tiger Mask (C) figure (with cape).
NJPW Junior Heavyweight Shinjiro Otani makes his Mini Big
Head debut decked out in his modern Zero1 entrance attire and
sword along with Osaka Pro Comedy Fighter Kikutaro (Ebessan)
and FMW legend Masato "Dangan" Tanaka!
Tanaka's only figure even includes Tanaka's hardcore forehead
scars.
Kikutaro's Mini Big Head is the only figure to feature Kikutaro
in his modern baseball cap wearing attire and is an easy standout
from the collection.
Speaking of standouts...
Ultimo Dragon also makes his Mini Big Head debut with two eye
catching figures.
Like Character Product's full sized versions, there is plenty of
detail in Ultimo's Mini Big Head counterparts.
Like the Takayama Mini Big Head, the blue Ultimo Mini Big
Head figure features a removable ring base allowing Ultimo to
perform his signature "Asai Moonsault"!
It should also be noted that the blue Ultimo figure is the only
Ultimo Mini Big Head not to contain Ultimo's entrance cape.
Perhaps the two most popular Mini Big Heads from Vol. 6.:
Great Muta D (Darth Muta) and Minoru Suzuki B (modern).
The Great Muta's Mini Big Head features Muta sculpted in a
"just removed my Ninja Hood" pose (the only Muta figure to
feature this design).
From the Japanese Kanji scrawled on his mask to the decals
painted on his ring trunks, there is plenty of detail in the Darth
Muta Mini Big Head.
Minoru Suzuki's second Mini Big Head contains Minoru's
modern hair style as he began to compete for AJPW (and
later) NJPW by the early 2000's.
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| Vol. 1. and Vol. 6. Minoru Suzuki Mini Big Heads. |
The secret figure for Vol. 6. is the late Shinya Hashimoto (suit
version).
This particular design was based on Shinya's role as ZERO1
founder and president.
The Secret and third Shinya Hashimoto figure (the first two
variants were released with Vol. 4) is only one of two Hashi-
-moto figures not to contain Hashimoto's iconic headband.
Ultimo Dragon 20th Anniversary Promo Set
Alongside the regular collection, Character Product would
also release a special Ultimo Dragon "20th Aniversary" (typo
included) set.
The five figure set was handed out as a not-for-sale, promotional
piece during Ultimo Dragon's 20th anniversary Wrestling event
held at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall.
The 20th Anniversary set would come in a small presentation box
topped off with a shiny, gold foil sticker.
The five figures are all repaints of the Vol. 6. Ultimo Dragon (B)
figure and are only available in this set.
The highlight of the 20th Anniversary set is the Green and Red
Ultimo Dragon Mini Big Head that contains the colors of the
Mexican flag (a tribute to Ultimo's storied involvement with
CMLL and other Lucha promotions in Mexico).
My personal favorites are the WCW-era green and blue Ultimo
Mini Big Heads.
20th Anniversary Yoshihiro Takayama Mini Big Head
For Vol. 6., Character Product also released another special repaint
(the company's first since Vol. 1.5.'s repaint series) which was only
available at Yoshihiro Takayama's 20th Anniversary memorial event.
The repainted Mini Big Head is of the Vol. 6. Yoshihiro Takayama B
(Entrance ver.)
The two differences for this exclusive are Takayama's hair
(which features gold paint instead of yellow) and a gold, "20th"
anniversary decal painted on the back of Takayama's shirt.
This 20th Anniversary figure is part of a special line of exclusive
Mini Big Heads that were distributed by Character Product at select
shows. Other Mini Big Heads with similar markings include a special
Kensuke Sasaki (repainted strap) and Masahiro Chono (clear black)
exclusive.
