As someone who writes about toys frequently, one thing I’ve often puzzled over is what to call figures that are of main characters in multiple outfits. I’m talking Battle Armor He-Man, Arctic Batman, Undercover Donatello, that sort of thing.

Calling them variants is misleading. I think most collectors think of a “variant” as the result of a production error or a running change in production. An example of a production error is “Party Angela,” a figure in McFarlane Toys’ Spawn line where the factory infamously neglected to paint her panties on. An example of a running change is the recent flocked-ears & unflocked ears Moss Man. So while some collectors do still use “variant” to describe the likes of Battle Armor He-Man, I’ve always wanted to come up with a separate term. (more…)