Battle Armor He-Man

SUMMARY:
Battle Armor He-Man, the “Most Powerful Man in the Universe” was produced in Taiwan, Mexico (Mabamex + Aurimat), Argentina, Venezuela, France, Spain, Italy and India. Equipped with an ingenious “battle damage” action feature that had three damage indicators, as the chest is struck, the emblem changes from undamaged, to one slash, to two slashes. This gimmick would later be used by Mattel in their “Crack-ups” Hot Wheels.

Battle Armor He-Man, the “Most Powerful Man in the Universe” was produced in Taiwan, Mexico (Mabamex + Aurimat), Argentina, Venezuela, France, Spain, Italy and India. Equipped with an ingenious “battle damage” action feature that had three damage indicators, as the chest is struck, the emblem changes from undamaged, to one slash, to two slashes. This gimmick would later be used by Mattel in their “Crack-ups” Hot Wheels.

The Rotoplast Battle Armor He-Man is recognizable by its mid-to-dark skin tones, distinct pink or reddish-pink boots, dark maroon shorts, and dark mustard to dark brown belt. This is a soft head figure, originally painted with vibrant yellow details, though the factory-applied paint is of lower quality and is typically found today faded to a dull yellow. All figures feature rubber arms, but the consistency can vary significantly — some are very flexible, while others are surprisingly rigid. It’s even common to find mixed consistency within the same figure, with one arm soft and the other hard, straight from the factory.

The figure is stamped © Mattel, Inc. 1981, 1983 TAIWAN, and all accessories carry the TAIWAN marking as well. Accessories appear in two main variants: one made of very rigid plastic with a shiny silver finish, and the other in semi-flexible, dull gray plastic. Both variants are marked the same and can be paired with either version of the Battle Armor He-Man.

There are two main variants of the Rotoplast Battle Armor He-Man:

1. Common Version
    This version features a dark mustard belt and a chest emblem painted in peach with a red outline. The slash marks on the armor are left unpainted. It can be found packaged in a standard blister card or in a bag with a cardback. Importantly, the bagged versions do not have a working chest barrel mechanism.  Additionally, there is a version of the common chest version that comes with He-Man shorts and He-Man plastic limbs, as opposed to BA He-Man shorts and rubber limbs.
   

2. Red Scar (Rare) Version
   Known as the Red Scar BA He-Man, this variant has bright red slash marks and no painted chest emblem. The “Stage 1” chest can be found in two forms: one completely blank and another with a red outline. Stage 2 displays one red slash mark, and Stage 3 shows two slashes. These figures typically come with a dark brown belt and never have a working chest mechanism, as they all lack the internal springs. All known Red Scar figures were packaged only in bags with cardbacks, never on blister cards.
   

A key point to remember about Rotoplast figures is that each one is like a fingerprint — no two are exactly alike. They often show variations in both molded skin tone and painted surfaces, adding to the charm and challenge of collecting these figures.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:

1. Mid-dark skin tones
2. Pink to reddish-pink boots
3. Dark maroon shorts
4. Dark mustard to dark brown belts
5. Silver weapons or dull gray weapons
6. Soft heads with (low-quality) yellow paint
7. Rubber arms (rigid to very flexible)

MARKED: © Mattel. Inc. 1981.1983 TAIWAN
ACCESSORIES MARKED: TAIWAN

VARIANTS:
1. Red Scar Battle Damage with unpainted first position
2. Red Scar Battle Damage with red frame first position
3. Standard Battle Damage
4. Standard Battle Damage, with He-Man Limbs and shorts