SUMMARY:
Congost began the production of the Spain He-Man in March 1984, followed by a second release in 1985 & 1986 (marked Spain in the torso), and culminating with a 1987 & 1989 release of the promotional He-Man, which used the France He-Man molds.
While all Spain-made figures were made by the Congost factories, we tend to refer to the initial release as the “Congost” He-Man, due primarily to the Congost logo in the blister. This figure did not have a country marking on the figure, rather it was just marked Mattel Inc on the torso, and had all unmarked accessories except for the axe which had a numbering sequence and batch number 14. All accessories on this figure are soft/gummy. A few characteristics of this figure are the paler limbs compared to the torso, the light orange belt, and orange hair. There exists a variant of this figure that has even more defined orange hair.
The next release had the Spain Mattel logo on the blister as opposed to the Congost logo. The figure is marked SPAIN, and it has more even tones between the limbs and torso. The face is more translucent, and the hair is a more yellowish hue. The belt is a richer orange, while the boots are similar. The accessories on this figure are identical to the Congost accessories. This figure was released both on an individual blister and presumedly on a twin pack with a Skeletor figure.
Where there seemed to be a much more dramatic change was in the third He-Man release, known as the “Promocional” due to it stating that promotional language on the blister. For this figure, Congost used the France He-Man mold. The figure is marked MADE IN FRANCE on the torso, as well as on the shield and the axe. The sword is marked TAIWAN and has a batch number in the fifties. This figure tends to have a Taiwan-like head, yet, I’ve also seen Spain Promotional He-Mans with the more translucent face normally seen on the Spain-marked figure. The belt is a darker orange, and the boot fur paint tends to be much more pronounced (yet not always). This figure came with translucent leg bands, as opposed to the black leg bands of the prior two He-Man releases.
This promotional figure can sometimes be confused for a France He-Man. A few key differentiators are the lighter gray weapons (as opposed to darker gray France weapons), lighter boots, and darker belt. The France He-Man tends to have more of a mustard/yellowish orange belt. The France figure also has a much more pronounced boot fur line, and the skin tones are redder. The face of a France is also considerably darker and not Taiwan-like.
VARIANTS:
1. First Edition Congost
2. Spain Marked
3. Promotional Release
1ST EDITION MARKED: © Mattel. Inc. 1981
ARMOR, Sword and Shield: Unmarked
AXE: 5040-2239 14
2ND EDITION MARKED: © MATTEL INC 1981 SPAIN
ARMOR, Sword and Shield: Unmarked
AXE: 5040-2239 14
3RD EDITION MARKED: © Mattel. Inc. 1981 MADE IN FRANCE
ARMOR: MADE IN FRANCE © MATTEL INC 1981 5040-2259
SWORD: 5040-2259 TAIWAN 54
AXE: 5040-2239 14
SHIELD: MADE IN FRANCE
