Mike's Toybox

I never thought I would get my hands on one of my mini-playset holy grails, let alone ALL OF THEM +1!

These things are beautiful labors of love courtesy of a naughty team of toymakers who spent way too many hours playing Street Fighter II in the 90s. Three levels from the game (and six of the original fighters) are lovingly recreated Polly Pocket style, with SNES controller compacts as a cute final touch — all absolutely without Capcom’s blessing, I gather. They’re actually called World Fighter, according to the awesome carded versions I was sent pics of (thanks, Karl!).

The figures are very cool knock-off reproductions of the characters, made from a tough rubbery plastic and articulated at the waist.

Match 1: E. Honda vs M. Bison!

A very cool bar scene with stereo speaker and barbell props. I have two of these after buying one from an ebay seller for an exorbitant amount, and then getting another for free when I bought the other two. I’m glad I shelled out the dough, ‘cos posting about the original purchase led to my getting the entire toy line. And who says social media is useless? Honda steals the show here: he’s well-sculpted and has an amazing paint job.

Match 2: Ryu vs Blanka!

Set in Blanka’s beloved Brazilian fishing village, we are treated to a cool alligator pit arena battle, with extra seats in case the other fighters come to watch. Ryu’s colorscheme is less Ryu and more Bolo Yeung I guess, but Blanka’s pretty much spot-on, if a bit yellow. I like how the people in the backgrounds of these sets are to scale with the fighters, too.

Match 3: Chun Li vs Guile!

Our final event takes place at the air base of Guile, which even reproduces the ace and his girlfriend cheering in the background. This set comes with the most stuff: a couple pipes, a set of guardrails, and a crate. Chun Li and Guile have the most accurate paint jobs, and the derpiest faces, but I love them anyhow.