Man-at-Arms (Leo India)
Man-at-Arms, the “master of weapons” was produced in Taiwan, Mexico (Aurimat), Venezuela, Argentina, Spain, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Hong Kong and France.
The INDIA figure can be identified by its hard plastic & vibrant blue head, mid-red shorts with smooth texture and blue belt, mid-to dark green tones, and either red or black boots, painted in both instances to the mid-fur line.
Two main variations of this figure are found. The “common” red boot, and the significantly rarer, later released black boot Man-at-Arms. The red boot tends to have lighter-green skin tones, semi-translucent accessories marked INDIA, and of course the characteristic dark red boots. You can tell they used the TAIWAN mold for these, but added a raised bar “INDIA” to cover the TAIWAN marking. This figure was released on the standard Red Card.
The black boot tends to have darker skin tones, opaque yellow accessories unmarked, black boots, and most unique of all, the arm cuff on the arm armor. That arm cuff mold can also be found on French MAAs and on later edition Spain MAAs. Its evident they used the FRANCE molds for the accessories. The markings on all the accessories are identical to the French MAA, except for the covered COO. This figure was released on the New Adventures Blue Card.
As is the case with Leo India figures, they have a propensity to color shift with age and weathering. This makes it difficult to distinguish if a figure is truly factory color, or if the colors have changed. In this case, you can tell the black boot has pinkish tones in the face, while the red boot has a pale, translucent face tones. This is not always the case, as red boots are frequently found with pinkish face tones as well.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Hard head with vibrant blues
2. Mid red shorts with a smooth texture, with a vibrant blue belt
3. Mid to dark green skin tones
4. Red or Black boots, painted mid-fur
BLACK BOOT VARIANT (BLUE NEW ADVENTURES CARD)
FIGURE MARKED: © MATTEL INC. 1981. INDIA
MACE MARKED: Blank.
HARNESS MARKED: 5041-, 2269, Covered COO 1981, © Mattel. Inc.
ARM ARMOR MARKED: 5041-2249 Covered COO
LEG ARMOR MARKED: 5041-2279 Covered COO
RED BOOT VARIANT (RED CARD)
FIGURE MARKED: © MATTEL INC. 1981. INDIA
MACE MARKED: INDIA 5
HARNESS MARKED: © MATTEL. INC. 1981 INDIA & 5041-2269 -7
ARM ARMOR MARKED: 5041-2249 -6 INDIA
LEG ARMOR MARKED: 5041-2279 -8 INDIA
