SUMMARY:
Jitsu, the “Evil Master of Martial Arts”, was produced in Hong Kong, Mexico (Aurimat), Argentina (Top Toys), France, Spain and India. This figure comes with removable armor and a katana. Jitsu has a twisting punch action as well as a spring-loaded chopping right arm.
The Spain Jitsu figure features a rubber head, bold red armor and shorts, and a semi-rigid katana. The head material varies from very soft translucent rubber to soft opaque, and the color ranges from a standard mid-brown (similar to the Hong Kong version) to a very dark shade.
There are two main variants of the Spain Jitsu: the Hong Kong–marked version and the Spain–marked (reedition) version.
The first release is marked © Mattel Inc. 1983 HONG KONG. It has black leg bands, a fully painted black belt, a sword marked 4924-2039 FRANCE, and a batch number such as 1, 2, or 3. The armor is a bold red, matching the shorts, and the katana is semi-rigid, appearing in either a standard or shorter length.
The second release, the reedition, is marked © Mattel Inc. 1983 SPAIN. It features clear leg bands and a black belt that is not fully painted, leaving a red border visible above the shorts. This unpainted belt detail is also seen on other Spain reedition figures, including Fisto, Beast Man, Man-At-Arms, and Buzz-Off.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Soft Head (can range from opaque to translucent, dark to mid brown
2. Bold red shorts and armor
3. Semi-rigid Katana
STANDARD RELEASE:
MARKED: © Mattel. Inc. 1983. HONG KONG
ARMOR MARKED: © Mattel Inc 1983 on one line
SWORD MARKED: 4924-2039 FRANCE, and a batch no. such as a 1, 2 or 3
REEDITION RELEASE:
MARKED: © Mattel. Inc. 1983. SPAIN
ARMOR MARKED: © Mattel Inc 1983 on one line
SWORD MARKED: 4924-2039 FRANCE, and a batch no. such as a 1, 2 or 3
