Heroic Warriors, Production Variants

Man-At-Arms: France Variant

There are a lot of different ways to collect Masters of the Universe figures. You can collect by wave (first, second, third, etc), by line (original, New Adventures, 200x, Classics, etc.) or by character. You can also collect by country of manufacture, which starts to get into some pretty esoteric territory. Some collectors have very impressive shelves filled with dozens of the same figure, each from a different country of origin, and each with slight differences in appearance.

One of the most interesting of such variants is the made in France Man-At-Arms, shown below:

Made in France
Notice the extra cuff on the armor at the wrist.

The most interesting thing about the France variant is the little cuff at the end of the figure’s armor at the wrist. That detail was included in the Man-At-Arms prototype (below), but it was cut from the production figure. Somehow it made it into the France version.

Prototype Man-At-Arms. Image source: James Eatock

There are other differences compared to the made in Taiwan versions (which were the types most commonly sold in the US). The plastic on the France version is cast in much more vivid colors. The feel of the plastic itself is quite different compared to the Taiwan release, and is somewhat waxy to the touch. The paint on the France belt also tends to be uneven,and the boots and loincloth are a much darker color as well.

Left: first release Taiwan version. Right: Made in France version.
Left: first release Taiwan version. Right: Made in France version.

There is another French variant from later on in the run. It’s a version with enlarged boots (like Thunder Punch He-Man‘s). However, the boots are separately molded pieces, and are cast in a very rubbery material:

Image via He-Man.org
Image via He-Man.org
Image via He-Man.org
Image via He-Man.org

The “rubber boots” France figures also include Battle Armor He-Man, Tri-Klops, Jitsu, Fisto, and possibly others. Also notably (thanks to Dani Ramón Abril for the information), some Spanish releases of Man-At-Arms use the early French mold, down to the “France” stamp on the back.

4 thoughts on “Man-At-Arms: France Variant

  1. These variants are a part of what makes the line so intriguing. I wish were was an simple way to attain them.

  2. When I collected a complete set of the vintage line some 15 years ago now, including many variants (sadly long since sold on), I had a MAA variant that was similar to this, possibly French but I’m struggling to recall it’s exact origin.
    The green was a lime green, and the armor was near-yellow. As I recall it didn’t have the extra cuff at the end of the arm armor. The brown on the trunks and boots was a deep vivid colour, bit not dark as the version pictured here. Why on earth can’t I remember what country the stamp gave… Rare for me not to remember… Very frustrating!!

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