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.

Once upon a time I tried variations, which is still the term I use, but it’s unsatisfying. It still sounds too much like variants and doesn’t really convey the idea properly.

“Costumes” is another option, but the word doesn’t quite fit in all cases (is AoA Weapon X a different “costume”?), and moreover, it evokes images of 12″ figures with real cloth outfits. The same goes for “outfit,” “uniform,” and so forth.

Looking over the thesaurus entries for “costume,” one word that might work is “guise.” Unlike costume or outfit, “guise” doesn’t solely refer to the physical clothing–adopting a “guise” can refer to a role or identity. So let’s try that out: Mattel sells He-Man in various guises, including Battle Armor He-Man, Ice Armor He-Man, and so forth.

Hmmm…not bad, not bad. This just might work. What do you think? Any alternative suggestions?