SUMMARY:
Beastman, the “savage henchman” was produced in Taiwan, Malaysia, Mexico (Aurimat), Argentina (Top Toys), Venezuela (Rotoplast), Brazil (Estrela), France, Spain, and India (Leo). He is equipped with a spring-loaded waist that swings back with a power punch.
The Malaysia Beastman is characterized by mid-orange skin tones, dark green belt dark red accessories that are much softer and gummier than its Taiwan counterpart. The figure is marked © Mattel Inc 1981. MALAYSIA and all its corresponding accessories are also marked Malaysia. The figure COO marking can be centered or left-aligned.
The standard figure is a soft head, yet there exists a rarer hard rubber head variant of Beastman Malaysia. I suspect it's only a Euro release since it is very seldom seen in the USA.
The whip comes in 3 different variants. The common is black and marked Malaysia. A less common version is the green string variant. This green string variant usually is marked Malaysia but has been found on a few occasions marked Taiwan. Most likely it's Taiwan overstock that was sent to Malaysia, but there is no conclusive data to verify this is the reason.
Interestingly, Leo India used the Malaysia mold for their earlier Beastman figures, so you can find Leos marked MALAYSIA, but with the characteristic skin tones, hard plastic heads, and smooth shorts seen with India figures.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Mid-Orange Skin Tones
2. Dark Red Accessories (soft and gummy)
3. Dark green belt.
FIGURE VARIATIONS:
1. Soft Head
2. Hard Rubber Head (Possibly only Euro release)
WHIP VARIATIONS:
1. Black whip marked Malaysia
2. Green whip marked Malaysia
3. Green whip marked Taiwan
FIGURE MARKED: © Mattel Inc 1981. MALAYSIA. The stamp can be centered, or slightly left-aligned.
WHIP MARKED: Malaysia (and batch no. such as a 9 or 11)
HARNESS MARKED: © MATTEL INC 1981. MALAYSIA 5043-2269
ARM PADS MARKED: MALAYSIA (and a batch no. such as a 1 or 9, etc..)
ARM STRAPS MARKED: MALAYSIA (and abatch no. such as an 8, etc..)
