SUMMARY:
Teela, the “warrior goddess,” was produced in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mexico (Aurimat), Argentina (Top Toys), Venezuela (Rotoplast), Brazil (Estrela), Spain, and India (Leo). Teela has a spring-loaded waist that swings back with a power punch, a snake harness, a shield, and a staff.
India produced two Teela variants.
The first variant features pale skin tones, muted gold highlights, purplish hair and boots, and nipples molded into the breasts. That is interesting, as the original Mattel sculpts included nipples, but they were then removed (censored) prior to their official US release. Somehow, these early molds were sent to India and Venezuela, as those are the only COO Teelas with nipple variants. The accessories are soft and light red, including a 2-batch number. The parts number on the harness is right in the center (back), and the interior helmet section has notches to fit the head of the figure better. Additionally, the paint on the boots stops at the mid-fur line.
The second variant (based on the HK mold) features bright gold highlights, dark red hair and boots, and tanned skin tones. This variant is marked MATTEL INC 1981 behind the neck. This variant’s boot paint also stops at the mid-fur line. The shield is marked 5045-2249 (with a scratched-off COO), the harness has the scratched-off COO and is marked © MATTEL, INC. 1981 8, and the staff is marked 6. These accessories use the Hong Kong mold with slight alterations.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS (NIPPLE VARIANT):
1. Pale skin stones
2. Muted gold highlights
3. Nipples molded on breasts
4. Purple hair and boots
5. No texture on the center torso leaf
6. Mid-fur boots
MARKED: UNMARKED
SHIELD MARKED: 5045-2249 2
HARNESS MARKED: 5045-2269 2
STAFF: 2
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS (HK MOLD VARIANT):
1. Bright gold highlights
2. Dark red hair and boots
3. Tanned skin tones
4. Mid-fur boots
MARKED: © MATTEL, INC. 1981
SHIELD MARKED: 5045-2249 (Scratched Off COO)
HARNESS MARKED: © MATTEL, INC. 1981 8 (Scratched Off COO)
STAFF: 6
