Growing up in the 80's, I was fascinated with the somewhat obscure line of Mattel toy M.U.S.C.L.E., as were most of my friends. Recently I became a bit nostalgic after coming across my childhood collection stashed away in the basement for well over a decade, so I did what anyone would do---I checked to see if any were selling on Ebay. I was quite surprised to find that it had quite a cult following with some members dedicating a good part of their lives to this toy line. At first I only wanted to complete my flesh collection, but a somewhat normal hobby has turned into a little bit of an obsession, I guess you could say! It is easy to get carried away and spend a load of money, so here's a couple tips I've learned while trying to complete my collection...______________________________ 1. Start out with your flesh collection. The flesh guys are the easiest to come by, and shouldn't be TOO expensive. I've tried to not pay more than about $.50 per figure when it comes to fleshies. Of course, if there's a rush of people who've also caught the M.U.S.C.L.E. bug at the same time you have, the price can VERY EASILY get out of hand...Be patient!!!!!!!!!! More will surely come around!! Don't get upset if you get outbid. The best thing to do is set a price which you feel comfortable with and stick with it. Don't get all crazy right off the bat. I think the first lot of fleshies I actually won was for $60, and I won about 175 of them. On the perceived rarity of SatanCross--he turns up frequently, so hold out and you may get him for relatively cheap--around $30-40. Look closely at all auctions, sometimes he pops up unannounced!!______________________________ 2. When you start your collection, keep tabs on it. I used MuscleDB dot com, a fantastic site for keeping track, and Soupie's M.U.S.C.L.E. archive to identify the characters (awesome, awesome work!!). I also frequented LittleRubberGuys dot com to pick up tips and chat with other Muscleheads. Keeping track will greatly help you avoid unnecessary purchases. There's been lots of times I could swear I needed so and so # 175 in salmon and it turned out I had him all along...So keep track!! I made a list on paper to consult while browsing lots just to make it quicker. You don't have to do that, I was just bored one day :)______________________________ 3. Once you're satisfied with your flesh, you can move on to some colors. The most relevant piece of information you must know is that some sculpts in certain colors are EXTREMELY rare, and will sometimes go for big money. Purple 3, 15, and 153 are all examples of colors that are rare and probably will end up costing you dearly. My advice would be to get some of the more common colors (once again, Soupie's totally radical site helps greatly on this one) before you start worrying about the hard-to-find stuff. You'll keep plenty busy putting together a color set for a long time. Keeping track of these are especially important. You can use MuscleDB dot com to somewhat judge rarity, but as of recent, fraudulent entries have thrown off the scale on some sculpts. Soupie's is still the best for determining rarity. It's hard to say how much a colored lot will go for, but I try not to pay more than around $1.00 per figure on the higher end (including shipping). Of course if there's a few hard-to-find ones in the lot, the price may be a little higher. Once again, set a price you're comfortable with._________________________________ 4. Ask the condition if you're in doubt. This is very important. One man's excellent is another's complete crap. I've gotten burned a couple times (not many, most people are pretty honest) especially on colored M.U.S.C.L.E.'s. The colored fig's are more prone to many ailments like unremoveable filth (especially green and orange), fading, loss of limbs and body parts, scuffing, permanent markers (that won't come off no matter what you do) and many other strange tortures. I've received a few that look like they went through a tree shredder. Ask for other closer pics, better descriptions- anything you can to make sure you're not throwing your money down the toilet. There's nothing more aggravating than getting a bunch of M.U.S.C.L.E.'s you need, but then they turn out to be in real crappy condition. Some people honestly don't know, but then again some people will try to pull a fast one on ya, so look out for yourself!!______________________________ 5. Make friends with other Muscleheads. If someone outbids you, don't write them threatening notes telling them how YOU should have won that lot. Don't demand they send you the one you need, or repeatedly aggravate them to sell you "just that one". Be friendly and respectful, make an offer to them. If they refuse or ignore you, move on. Another one will eventually come up, it may take awhile, but it will come up again. On the other hand, if someone approaches you, try to help them out. Especially if you have doubles. I'm always open to people's offers, and I will always respond to people who write me. Heck, if you're nice enough about it, I'll probably give it to you for nothing, so long as I've got doubles. (This is not a "free M.U.S.C.L.E. giveaway" :P) Do a favor for someone, you never know how they will repay you!! LittleRubberGuys dot com has many friendly folks who are willing to trade with you, just don't go looking for a handout!!______________________________ 6. Pick a couple favorites and collect them. For me, it's Sunshine. Choose your favorite sculpt(s) and look for them specifically. It's not worth doing if you turn it into some kind of competition, so collect for the fun of collecting.______________________________ 7. Manage your lists so you don't accidentally forget about an auction. Pick one or two on your list that you really want, and go for those!! Just don't get carried away, it's not a peeing contest, so don't go overboard in bidding wars just to prove a point. Refine your searches, too. Some people list the figures under M.U.S.C.L.E., some list them under muscle men, and sometimes they turn up under Kinnikuman. Always check everywhere!______________________________ 8. There are many other M.U.S.C.L.E. items---the battlin' belt, the wrestling ring, the NES game, the poster, the board game, unopened 4, 10, and 28 packs, etc... I've seen such great fluctuation in all these things, that it's hard to put a number on what you'll pay. The ring is quite common to see, but make sure it's in good condition--no broken ropes or holders. Condition is the #1 factor when determining the prices of these things. 4 packs are common, but I've seen only a few 10 packs, and they went for what I would consider extremely high prices (around $50 a piece). Don't buy junk just to say you have it. Wait it out and your piece that you want will appear there one day!!______________________________ If you get bored with M.U.S.C.L.E., there's always Kinnikuman, Exogini and Cosmix too!!! Have fun!! I hope these ramblings help a little!