Spin Fighters were

die-cast Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly t ...

metal top

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

s that were manufactured by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

in China from 1993 to 1997. The tops were loaded into launchers (later, called "power launchers"), which were then tightly wound by fingertip, and subsequently released into the Spin Fighters Battle Arena or onto a flat surface. The tops battled (hitting against each other) until the last top spinning was the winner. Spin Fighters tops were about 1 inch across, came in black and gold colors, and bore a prismatic sticker with a character from a TV show or video game. Usually, the black tops represented the "bad guys" and the gold tops represented the "good guys". Spin Fighters were sold two to a package, one gold and one black. Power Launchers and Battle Arenas were available separately or bundled. The tops can be disassembled and worn on jackets, shirts and hats, through any small button hole. Production of Spin Fighters ceased around 1997. They are widely seen{{by whom, date=September 2022 as the forerunner to

Beyblade is a line of spinning-top toys originally developed by Takara, first released in Japan in July 1999, along with its debut series. Following Takara's merger with Tomy in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Various toy companies ar ...

, which began production in 1997.

Series

Spin Fighters series included World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Saban's

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...

and

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

. Later, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers "Turbo Launchers" were available, each with an exclusive matching "Power Coin" Spin Fighter. However, they were only made for the Black, Blue, Pink and White Rangers. Turbo Launchers did not require fingertips to wind. Instead, a wheel on the side was rolled against a table to wind the launcher.

Special sets

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Tournament set consisted of a cardboard storage box, all 25 series 2 Spin Fighters, a red Power Pit Battle Arena and two Launchers. It was available by mail, starting in 1994, through various store catalogs, including

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, K·B Toys and

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

. While the packaging says "Exclusive Zordon Spin Fighter only available in this set!", it was also sold bundled with the Lord Zedd Spin Fighter, the "Thunder Stadium" Battle Arena and two Mini Launchers. A

Street Fighter II Turbo ''Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting'' is a competitive fighting game released by Capcom for arcades in 1992. It is the third arcade version of ''Street Fighter II'', part of the ''Street Fighter'' franchise, following '' Street Fighter II ...

box set, exclusive to Japan, had 24 blue Spin Fighters. It consisted of a cardboard box containing 12 different Spin Fighters and their duplicates, each in an individual protective storage case. The character stickers were not holographic and had different images from those available in North American and European markets. A Street Fighter II Turbo Tournament Set, exclusive to Japan, consisted of a cardboard storage box, black and gold Japan-exclusive Spin Fighters, a purple Battle Arena, two Launchers and a clear plastic cup (the purpose of which is known only to those who can read Japanese). (UPC:4902425393476)

Errors

There are 3 naming errors in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - series 1. Mutitis is incorrectly called Thornos, Hatchasaurus is called Hatchling, and Colossus is labeled as Knight in Shiny Mirrors. There is one1 naming error in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - series 2. Octophantom is incorrectly called Elepus. There are two missing from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - series 3. It remains unclear why Turbo Launchers were not made to match the Red and Yellow Rangers (The Green Ranger, Tommy Oliver, had become the White Ranger by this point in time, so a Green Ranger Turbo Launcher would not have made sense canonically). Also, the stickers are holographic at the outer edge only, rather than prismatic over the entire surface, like series 1 and 2. Production models do not match prototypes seen on the back of the packaging for the Thunder Stadium, which had the color fields flipped, thereby providing a more pleasing and accurate color when spinning. Furthermore, the design on the White Ranger's Power Coin is wrong, both the Turbo Launcher and the matching Spin Fighter. It shows a White Tiger Power Coin, which was never seen on the show. (The correct White Ranger Power Coin is supposed to resemble the distinctive markings seen on a Tiger's forehead.)

List of Spin Fighters sets

Spin Fighters Starter (1993)

* Spin Fighter Mascot (Gold) / Spin Fighter Mascot (Black) (Bundled with Launcher) * Spin Fighter Mascot (Gold) / Spin Fighter Mascot (Black) (Bundled with Battle Arena and Launcher)

Street Fighter II Turbo (1993)

* Guile (Gold) / Balrog (Black) (UPC:045557021108) * E. Honda (Gold) / Ryu (Black) (UPC:045557021108) - Double "Good Guy" Pack * Zangief (Gold) / M. Bison (Black) (UPC:045557021108) * Blanka (Gold) / Sagat (Black) (UPC:045557021108) * Dhalsim (Gold) / Ken (Black) (UPC:045557021108) - Double "Good Guy" Pack * Chun Li (Gold) / Vega (Black) (UPC:045557021108)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - series 1 (1993)

* Red Ranger / Rita Repulsa (Bundled with "Communicator" Power Launcher - UPC:045557022853) * Red Ranger / Rita Repulsa (Bundled with Blue Battle Arena and "Communicator" Power Launcher - UPC:069545022885) * Blue Ranger / Hatchling (UPC:045557022808) * Green Ranger / Squatt (UPC:045557022808) * Black Ranger / Finster (UPC:045557022808) * Pink Ranger / Knight in Shiny Mirrors (UPC:045557022808) * Yellow Ranger / King Sphinx (UPC:045557022808) * Alpha 5 / Goldar (UPC:045557022808) * Mammoth Dinozord / Polluticorn (UPC:045557022808) * T-Rex Dinozord / Bones (UPC:045557022808) * Megazord / Pineoctopus (UPC:045557022808) * Dragonzord / Eye Guy (UPC:045557022808) * Mega-Dragonzord / Thornos (UPC:045557022808) * Titanus / Baboo (UPC:045557022808) * Ultrazord / Rita Repulsa (Bundled with Blue Battle Arena - UPC:045557022884) * Ultrazord / Rita Repulsa (Bundled with Red Battle Arena and Launcher) PLANNED, BUT NEVER PRODUCED OR RELEASED: * Ultrazord / Scorpina

oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

(Bundled with Blue Battle Area)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - series 2 (1994)

* Jason / Salaguana (UPC:045557021405) * Kimberly / Guitardo (UPC:045557021405) * Trini / Pirantis Head (UPC:045557021405) * Billy / Scorpina onster Form(UPC:045557021405) * Zack / Invenusable Fly Trap (UPC:045557021405) * Tommy / Turban Shell (UPC:045557021405) * White Ranger / Elepus (UPC:045557021405) * White Tigerzord / The Primator (UPC:045557021405) * Red Dragon Thunderzord / Robogoat (UPC:045557021405) * Thunder Megazord / Bulk (UPC:045557021405) * Thunder Ultrazord / Skull (UPC:045557021405) * Thunderzord Assault Team / Lord Zedd (UPC:045557021405) * Zordon (Exclusive to The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Tournament Set - UPC:045557021993) * Zordon/Lord Zedd (Bundled with "Thunder Stadium" Battle Arena, and 2 exclusive Purple and Green Mini Launchers)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - series 3 (1995)

* Pterodactyl Power Coin Emblem (Bundled with Pink Turbo Launcher - UPC:3296580022861) * Mastodon Power Coin Emblem (Bundled with Black Turbo Launcher - UPC:3296580022861) * Triceratops Power Coin Emblem (Bundled with Blue Turbo Launcher - UPC:3296580022861) * White Tigerzord Power Coin Emblem (Bundled with White Turbo Launcher - UPC:3296580022861)

World Wrestling Federation - WWF (1994)

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Yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

(UPC:045557021207) *

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

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(UPC:045557021207) * Bret "Hitman" Hart / Adam Bomb (UPC:045557021207) *

Razor Ramon Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most ...

(UPC:045557021207) * Tatanka / Evil Crush (UPC:045557021207) *

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(UPC:045557021207)