Muffler Man Spotter's Chart.

How to Identify a Muffler Man

Avoid the social embarrassment of incorrectly categorizing a muffler man sighting by studying his simple features and variations:

Note: Muffler Men are NOT the 4-6 ft. tall welded sculptures made of discarded car parts at repair shops!

See Muffler Art Men

Physical Characteristics

Material: Fiberglass. Knock on his leg to see if he's hollow.
Height: From bottom of shoe to top of head or hat, between 18-25 ft. tall
Head: Well-chiseled facial bones, prominent brow and squarish "lantern" jaw. Crack a beer bottle over this guy's noggin and he wouldn't be fazed. Eyes may appear to stare blankly into the middle distance, or may be painted to leer down at visitors. Exceptions: Halfwits and Indians
Torso: Broad-shoulders, and familiar design of fake shirt folds. Pockets, suspenders, shirt patterns sometimes painted on. Exceptions: Indian models often barechested.
Arms: Short-sleeved shirt, well-articulated veins bulge on forearms. Bent at elbow, left palm faces down, right palm faces up -- with an open grasp to hold an ax, muffler, golf club, etc.
Shoes and legs: Big, blocky shoes measure about 4-ft. from heel to toe. Pants exhibit familiar pattern of folds and creases.

Related Members of the Muffler Man Family

Uniroyal Gal

Another product of International Fiberglass, Inc., the shapely Uniroyal Gal is shorter than her M-Man counterpart. See Big Women

Big Friend

The penultimate highway giant, created by International Fiberglass in the 1960s numbering some 300 (with thousands more planned). Rumored destroyed by a big corporation in a post-ad campaign pogrom. A few remain. See Service Station Men

Viking

The Viking figure shares fewer characteristics with Muffler Men, except his height and fiberglass composition.

Mutants

Variations on the M-Man physique are found with the standard hand configuration, but everything else is horribly wrong. See Mutant Hybrids

Big John

A towering colossus of a grocery store clerk, beefy arms bowed outward to accommodate giant bags of groceries. See Big John

Basic Types

The Classic

Gas Station Attendant, Golfer, Hamburger Man, Cowboy

Configured with all the basic characteristics, standing 21-22 ft. tall. While shipped clean-shaven, may be customized with a painted mustache or even a beard -- sometimes in the style of the Bunyan model. The Cowboy version of the classic always features a removable Stetson.

Bunyan

Lumberjack, Woodsman

Configured with most of the basic characteristics, standing 20 ft. tall. The Bunyan probably existed before the Classic. Distinguishing features include a head with a molded wool cap, and a heavy beard. Bunyans are frequently sighted brandishing single or double-sided axes. Shirt may be painted in a red plaid pattern. There is somewhat shorter variation of the Bunyan that wears a hard hat or miner's helmet.

Indian

Noble Savage, the Big Chief, or the Brave

Shoes and legs are often the same, but other characteristics of the Indian are further removed from purebred M-Man lineage. The head and arm configuration differ, except in cases where May don a single "Brave" feather or full "Chief" headdress. This category is confused by instances of Classics that have been modified to appear as Indians.

See The Big Indian Question

Happy Halfwit

Mortimer Snerd, Alfred E. Neumann, S.F.B., Country Bumpkin

The gap-toothed, jug-eared Happy Halfwit is comedy relief among otherwise stern looking M-Men types. This strain shares the M-Man's molded torso/arms and legs/shoes. Sports a straw hat or baseball cap. Original Halfwits were sold in heights as tall as 21 ft. Many of today's survivors are a shorter, neckless variety, closer to 15-18 ft.