Dragon Blaster Skeletor Mabamex (Mexico)
Dragon Blaster for the USA Market was fabricated both in Mexico (Tijuana) and in Hong Kong. For this diagram we will focus on the Mexico (Mabamex Factory) version, as well as a few ways to tell apart the more difficult to discern accessories.
The Mexico Dragon Blaster Skelly is marked © Mattel. Inc 1984 MEXICO in the back of the figure, and its marked that way on the back armor as well. The front armor only has numbers, but in order to match it (and tell it apart from a HK front armor), just look at the font and the placement of the numbers. They will be a perfect match to the font and the numbers of the back piece. The armor will also be darker, and should match the both the purple mold and the red highlights to the dragon. The dragon has a white mouth, while the HK has a red mouth.
Both the chain and the lock should be a match in terms of color to each other. The Mexico chain has rounder, larger links. The ending link is round, while the ending link in the HK is square. The Mexico lock is slightly lighter color, and has a single digit number. The HK lock is completely blank. Note as well that the end of the lock shackle is round on the Mexico, while its more square on the HK.
The sword is unmarked, and its important to note this exact sword can also correspond to a battle armor skeletor marked Mexico.
An interesting thing with Dragon Blaster is that the parts were all made in Mexico, as oppose to most other Mabamex figures (Mexico for the USA Market) that had accessories generally made in the USA. All the DB Skelly MOCs that I've run across say "MADE IN MEXICO", without any corresponding "ACCESSORIES MADE IN THE USA" text as it is commonly seen with others from this factory.
Lastly, while the large Dragon Blaster foot mold is what is usually seen with this figure, on rare occasions the Mexico Dragon Blaster Skeletor can also be found with regular skeletor sized feet.
