K-1 Grand Prix Andy Hug Figure Key Holder review

Blog #213 drops the Axe Kick on the IMA Corporation K-1 Grand Prix Andy Hug
Figure Key Holder.

The Andy Hug keychain figure was released in 1999 by Ima Corporation in Japan.

The K-1 Grand Prix (short for K-1 World Grand Prix) was a championship tournament held in
the K-1 promotion. The most prestigious and long-running competition dating back to K-1's
formation in 1993.

The back of the packaging lists the eight figures available in Figure Keyholder series.

A scan of the cardboard backing reveals all eight figures in the K-1 Grand Prix Key
Holder line. In Japanese, the series is known as "K-1 フィギュア キーホルダー"
(K-1 Figure Holder).

The figures are (clockwise):

レイ・セフォー (Ray Sefo),
フランシスコ・フィリオ (Franceso Filho),
サム・グレコ (Sam Greco),
角田信朗 (Nobuaki Kakuda),
マイク・ベルナルド (Mike Bernardo),
アーネスト・ホースト (Ernesto Hoost),
ピーター・アーツ (Peter Aerts),
アンディ・フグ (Andy Hug)

Andy Hug stands 5cm tall (just under 2 inches) and is sculpted performing Andy's
signature "Axe Kick" pose.

Andy's left boxing glove helps the keychain figure stand upright.

                   

The right side of Andy's ring attire shows a stitch pattern along Andy's trunks.

Obviously, the paint job isn't the greatest on this particular example.

The back of the Andy Hug figure is stamped with "(C) K-1 1999".

Sadly, there was a bit of wear on Hug's left boxing glove; even after the figure was recently
removed from it's packaging for these photos.


Closing thoughts:

I personally like the K-1 Grand Prix Key Holder Figure series. Each figure has a cartoonish
charm to it, the fighter likenesses are recognizable and the dimensions of the figures themselves
are bulky.

Just like Toukon Shop and Character Product, IMA Corporation would recycle the moulds
from this keychain line to create smaller figures; giving fans of the K-1 promotion even more
incentive to seek out their favourite combatants.

For more reading, I've also reviewed the Ernesto Hoost figure from this line. You can read
the review HERE<----------.

Character Product Kazushi Sakuraba figure

Anyone who's followed Mixed Martial Arts in Japan is well aware of Kazushi Sakuraba.

Known as the "Gracie Hunter", Sakuraba is considered one of Japan's most lethal fighters
and an MMA all-time great in the ring for his "anti-technique" style.

Blog #173 is all about Character Product's Kazushi Sakuraba figure.

Released in the early 2000's as part of Character Product's earliest, non-New Japan
Pro-Wrestling licenses, the Kazushi Sakuraba figure comes with a recognizable
entrance mask accessory:

A mask that pays homage to Japanese legend Super Strong Machine.

As "MMA's Jester" Sakuraba was known for being highly-entertaining in the ring.
Often toying with his opponents (such as trying to pull Royce Gracie's pants down
during a match) in situations where a lesser fighter wouldn't have even contemplated
the notion.

Adding to the entertainment factor, Sakuraba would also adorn several entrance
masks as a tribute to other Wrestlers such as The Road Warriors, The Great Muta,
and Big Van Vader.

Sakuraba's trunks contain the text "Takada Dojo" (a reference to Sakuraba's trainer
and fellow shoot fighting legend Nobuhiko Takada).

Even Sakuraba's right knee brace has been faithfully recreated in figure form.

With mask accessory removed, Sakuraba's likeness and upbeat attitude is
unmistakably spot-on.

Typical to Japanese figures, there are two colour variants for this specific figure.
The second variant features Sakuraba with a half red and half gold hair colour.

A close up of Sakuraba's trunks reveals Sakuraba's initials, a copyright stamp for
Takada (I'm guessing Sakuraba's contract was owned by Nobuhiko Takada at the time)
and Sakuraba's last name in cursive writing.


Closing thoughts:

Character Product made great effort in catering to Japan's MMA-infused audience of
the early 2000's. RINGS, PANCRASE, K-1, Fujiwara Gumi, and even the UWFI all
had their biggest stars turned into figures as part of the Charapro line.

Charapro jumped at the chance at making figures for Sakuraba during the heyday of
Sakuraba's in-ring exploits. Keshigomu figures, action figures, Mini Big Heads,
G.I. Joe-scale figures and even a Bobblehead.

While certainly not the most-detailed Sakuraba figure available (that distinction easily
goes to the Sakuraba figures made by HAO), fans of the MMA Jester will still be
satisfied by the quality and faithfulness of Character Product's first action figure
adaptation.

Character Product Masakatsu Funaki figure review

As Toukon Shop re-branded themselves as Character Product in 1999, Character
Product set out to create figures for Wrestlers outside of the New Japan Pro-Wrestling
promotion.

One of the earliest licenses came in the form of "the golden boy" shoot fighting legend
Masakatsu Funaki.

Blog #172 gets Hybrid Conscious with Character Product's Masakatsu Funaki figure.

This particular variant features a younger Masakatsu Funaki from his early 1990's career
competing for the PANCRASE promotion.

The packaging contains the PANCRASE cross logo on the top right corner and middle
of the packaging.

As a throwback figure, Funaki is also sporting his longer hair from the era.

Funaki's stoic facial expression looks ready to start dropping palm strikes and
high kicks.

Funaki's stats and in-ring accomplishments are listed on the back of the packaging.

Though, no date is given, I suspect the figure (based on the blister card packaging
and Character Product's third logo being used) was released around 2001. The
bio section also mentions Funaki's accolades up until the year 2000.


Closing thoughts:

A great throwback to the early days of PANCRASE and a solid likeness of Funaki's
younger years. Collectors should keep an eye out for the rarer, alternate red colour
variant of this figure, too.

Technically, the rarest Funaki figures you can find are:

1) Masakatsu Funaki vs Minoru Suzuki two pack with Pancrase belt.

2) Masakatsu Funaki vs Rickson Gracie two pack with special Funaki colour variant.

3) Masakatsu Funaki Real Figure with Pancrase belt

HAO Collection #DS-004 Quinton "Rampage" Jackson figure review

Starting the new year off with a pre-fight penalty, today's figure review "breaks
the ice" with blog #80: HAO Collection's Quinton "Rampage" Jackson!

                               


Being one of the earliest HAO Collection figures, Rampage Jackson was released
in 2003 as "#DS-004" (the "DS" represents the Japanese "Dream Stage Entertain
-ment" promotion - while Rampage was the 4th figure released of the set).


                                 

A close-up of Rampage's grimacing face sculpt shows off a sizeable gap in
Rampage's mouth as well as Rampage's stylized left eyebrow.


                             

The HAO Rampage Jackson figure comes sculpted with an attached MMA
"Yellow Card" in Rampage's left hand.

                        

The pose of the Rampage figure was inspired by Rampage's victory against Mikhail
Ilyukhin at Pride 26: Bad to the Bone which began with Rampage humorously
issuing the referee a "Yellow Card" (in MMA, a yellow card is considered a
"foul". Each time a fighter is issued a yellow card during a match, the fighter
loses 10% of their fight money. If a fighter receives three yellow cards, the
fighter is instantly disqualified).

Rampage's reason for issuing the referee a yellow card? The ref's breath
stunk.



                            


Rampage's left arm contains a tattoo decal of a black panther.



                              

A step down from from HAO's previous figure (#DS-003 Fedor Emelianenko),
there are no logos or designs on Rampage's trunks.

                              


One of the highlights of the HAO Rampage Jackson figure is Rampage's
removable walkout chain accessory!


                          

The bottom of the Rampage Jackson figure includes HAO's copyright
stamp from 2003.


                             

Rampage stands about 6 and a half inches tall and features a surprising
amount of articulation at the arms, wrists, neck, waist AND legs which
can be rotated!

Truly, very few HAO figures have this many poseable joints!

HAO Collection #DS-003 Fedor Emelianenko figure review

Just this week, I was finally able to get my hands on another coveted
figure from the Japanese HAO Collection line.

For blog #73, we'll be squaring off against the master of the Armbar,
Mixed Martial Arts champion: Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emeliane
-nko!

Released in 2003 as part of HAO Collection's line of large-scale soft
-vinyl figures.

As usual, the cardboard backing slips off easily revealing awesome, full
-colour graphics of Fedor and his fight gloves.

Fedor's name is displayed in both English and Japanese Katakana along
with the serial "#DS-003" ("DS" is short for the Dream Stage Entertain
-ment promotion while Fedor was the third figure from the set).

The back of the slip-case packaging. I love the scratched metal design.

The Fedor figure's packaging contains the standard item description
found on early HAO Collection releases. The description reads:

"FIGHTERS FIGURE LIMITED MODEL

This figure is the selected superstar from world sports entertainment.
Learn the spirit behind a figure shows you a new perspective on your
passion for the fight."
The back of the packaging also features the Dream Stage promotion
logo as the official licensee and Fedor's name once again in Japanese.

Let's take a look at the Fedor figure out of the package:

Sculpted in fighting pose, Fedor Emelianenko is one of the very few
HAO Collection figures to come packaged with a Championship belt.


                               

The included belt accessory (exclusive to the HAO Collection Fedor
figure) is the PRIDE Heavyweight Championship.


                             

The PRIDE belt has a lightweight fabric strap with durable plates and
buckle designs on the sides and back of the belt.

Each plate contains plenty of detail and has a 3-dimensional, textured
look.

                        

The back of the Pride Heavyweight belt contains four buckles and is
fastened with Velcro.


                                  


The only other mixed martial artist to contain a championship belt in
the HAO Collection is Wanderlei Silva (#D2-002 and repackaged as
an alternate variant as #DS-005 with white shorts). Both of which
contain the Pride Middle Weight Championship.

Fedor comes in his PRIDE-era "ADRENALINE" attire.

The design continues on the back of Fedor's trunks.

For display purposes, the Pride Heavyweight Championship can also
be slung over Fedor's shoulders.

At just under 7 inches (17cm) The HAO Collection Fedor soft-vinyl
figure is the largest figure ever made of the Emperor.

If you look closely, you'll even see Fedor's right cheek scar!

                               


Articulation-wise, Fedor features artciulation at the arms, wrists,
neck and waist.

What's even cooler is that Fedor's head tilts direction when rotated;
adding to the figure's intimidation factor!



In our next figure review, we'll be looking at another "giant" in the
HAO Collection!

Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gi figure review

To celebrate today's 60th blog post, we'll be drawing from the figure
archive to cover another special Puroresu collectible from Japan: the
Rickson Gracie (Gi ver.) Character Product figure.

Following the 2000 release of Character Product's first figure of Rick
-son Gracie (the Colosseum 2000 and Bushido Spirit variants), Chara
-cter Product followed up with a second figure of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
legend in 2002.

                                   

Drawing from Rickson's previous figure, the updated 2002 version
features Rickson's in his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gi and red belt.


                           


The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu logo patch (with Rickson's name) are printed on
the front of Rickson's Gi.


                                 


The left sleeve of the Rickson figure contains a decal which reads
"FIRST INSTRUCTOR" (a reference to Rickson Gracie being a
noted trainer of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu).
                            

This Gracie figure also features an updated head sculpt with Rick
-son's more recognizable buzzcut hairstyle.

The back of Rickson's Gi once again contains a patch of the Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu logo along with Rickson's name and text that reads "INTER
-NATIONAL JIU-JITSU ASSOCIATION".

In typical Character Product fashion, the back of the Rickson figure
contains the text "(C) RICKSON" as this figure was officially licens
-ed by the man himself.

Rickson Gracie Character Product Figure review

Our next figure for sale from the Japanese Character Product line

is of mixed martial arts legend and 9th degree Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

black belt: Rickson Gracie!

                       

Released in 2000, the first version of the Japanese Rickson Gracie
figure's packaging contains the "コロシアム 2000" (COLOSS
-EUM 2000) logo.

Colosseum 2000 was a martial arts event held at the Tokyo,
Dome on May 26th, 2000 which saw Rickson Gracie take on
PANCRASE legend Masakatsu Funaki.


                                 

The back of the Colosseum version's packaging contains Rickson's
stats and a brief bio leading up to his match against Funaki.

Rickson's stats reads:

"From: BRAZIL
D.O.B.: 1959.11.21. (November 21st,1959)
Height: 178cm (5ft. 9in.)
Weight: 84kg (185 lbs)"As an early Character Product figure, the packaging of the
Rickson Gracie figure features Character Product's original
logo.

                         

A limited-edition, two-figure set was also released to commemorate
the Colosseum 2000 match-up. What makes this set extra special
is the exclusive Masakatsu Funaki figure with silver trunks.


                            

In an attempt not to seem outdated after the conclusion of
Colosseum 2000, Character Product decided to repackage
their Rickson Gracie figure.

This time around, the packaging contains the words "Bushido
Spirit" in English and simply "武士道" (Bushido) in Japanese.

The Bushido reference goes back to Rickson's infamous dojo
fight against UWFI star Yoji Anjo (who boasted that he was
"200% sure" he could defeat Rickson).

            

After a quick (and brutal) beat-down, Rickson emerged the
victor while Anjo laid in a bloody mess; leading the latter
to present Rickson with a Samurai helmet as a gift for the
fight.

As news broke out of Anjo's defeat in Japan, Rickson's
next major challenge came in the form of Masakatsu Funaki
who (seeking to avenge Anjo's loss) wore a Samurai kimono
and carried a Katana to the ring for their Colosseum 2000 fight.

                                          

The back of the re-released Bushido Spirits version is a massive
improvement with two images, a black backdrop and Character
Product's modern logo.


                                

Character Product would also release an alternate variant of
the Rickson Gracie Bushido Spirit figure that features exclusive
white kneepads.

Let's take a closer look at a loose example:

                                  

Rickson comes dressed in white trunks, kneepads, and foot &
wrist tape with black MMA gloves.

A decal of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu logo is printed on the right side
of  Rickson's trunks.


                               

Rickson would be the only member of the Gracie family to
receive his own Japanese figure to date. The Colosseum 2000
Character Product figure would also be the very first figure made
of the legend in any country.

When it comes to rarity, the variants packaged with the "Colosseum
2000" logo are considered the most collectible since Character
Product discontinued (and repackaged) them after Rickson's
Colosseum fight against Funaki.