Bo Duke was initially released wearing a long sleeve off-white denim shirt, denim blue jeans with a brown vinyl belt and a circular gold belt buckle. He also came with black high top boots. The Bo Duke head sculpt is dead on and clearly resembles John Schneider who played Bo Duke on the television series.
Bo's
long sleeve shirt contained a sewn in pocket located on his
left breast and also contained one set of snaps in the front.
Similar to Luke, Mego quickly modified Bo's shirt by eliminating
the pocket and shortening his sleeves. It could have been
a cost cutting measure, or giving the figure more flexibility
by having the elbows open for unrestricted movement. The shirt
was modified while the 1980 cards were still in production
so Bo can be found wearing a short sleeve shirt packaged in
1980 and 1981 cards (see the card section for details on the
1980 card. 
Bo with log sleeve and short sleeves on
1980 and 1981 cards
When Mego shortened the sleeves on Bo's shirt, they also slightly
changed the material and design. The long sleeve shirt was
constructed from a thicker denim-like material. The short
sleeve shirt was constructed from slightly thinner denim-like
material, but was not the softer more elastic material used
on Luke Duke shirts. The pocket located on the left breast
was also removed. The majority of Bo Duke figures contain
this later style shirt. The short sleeve shirt was also a
bit "whiter" than the long sleeve shirt shown to
the right.
The long sleeve shirt was designed so that the left side of
the shirt snapped over the right side. The left side contained
a lapel that ran down the center of the shirt when snapped.
This lapel was eliminated when the short sleeve shirt was
designed. Now that the short sleeve shirt was a symmetrical
design, technically either side could be snapped over the
other. While the majority of short sleeve shirts have the
left side snapping over the right, some were produced so that
the right side snaps over the left. The shirt with the right
side snapped over the left is much more difficult to find,
although this is only the result of someone sewing the snap
to the other side to break the monotony on the production
line.
Bo Duke's short sleeve shirts
can also exhibit an unattractive discoloring. Quite a few of the
short sleeve shirts can have a brownish discoloration to them. Whether
it is a chemical reaction with the body resin or some chemical in
the shirt itself, it is not pleasant to look at. Carded Bo's can
be seen with discolored shirts still sealed inside original bubbles.
Finding a vibrant white shirt without discoloration will not require
an extended search, but the discolored shirts are out there in numbers
Bo's initial blue jeans were not baggy and had more of a taped
or snug fit (for the ladies) when compared to initial Luke
Duke pants. 
While
the material for Luke Duke pants was changed from the denim-like
material, Bo's jeans continued to contain the denim-like material
for the life of the line. The only difference was that the
color of Bo's jeans became a bit darker. The initial light
blue denim pants can be paired with the long and short sleeve
shirt. The later darker jeans should only be paired with the
short sleeve shirt. There will be some slight variance upon
close examination, but there was not the wide variance seen
with Luke Duke pants.
Bo's
pants were held up with a brown vinyl like belt sewn in at
the ends by the snaps. A circular shaped belt buckle was threaded
through the belt and was able to slide along the belt from end to
end. The brown belts can be textured or smooth similar to Luke.
The shape of Bo's belt buckle did not change like Luke's, although
there is one variation. Similar to Luke, very few belt buckles have
been confirmed to be silver rather than gold. It is possible that
these silver belt buckles did not go through the gold dipping process.
The silver belt buckles can be considered an error, but are very
difficult to find and seldom pop up. To date, Bo has only been confirmed
with the circular belt buckle, but with Quality Control not being
Mego's strength during their desperate times, it would not be unheard
of to find some figures that were assembled with Luke's belt buckle.
Similar to the short sleeve shirt, the waistline of the pants
was symmetrical so either the side could be snapped over the
other. Pants seemed to flip back and forth between right side
over left, and vice versa.
The snaps used to secure the shirt and pants were initially
metal snaps that can be shaped square or round. Shortly after
the long sleeve shirt was phased out, the metal snaps were
replaced with white plastic snaps. Since short sleeve shirts
can be found with metal snaps, it is safe to say that all
long sleeve shirts should only contain metal snaps. The short
sleeve shirt can contain either metal or plastic snaps.
Similar to the short sleeve shirt, the waistline of
the pants was symmetrical so either the right side could be
snapped over the other. Pants seemed to flip back and forth
between right side over left, and vice versa. See the picture
a little further down for examples of pants sewn either way.
The
snaps used to secure the shirt and pants were initially metal
snaps that can be shaped square or round. Shortly after the
long sleeve shirt was modified, the metal snaps were replaced
with white plastic snaps. Since short sleeve shirts and the
polyester type pants can be found with metal snaps, it is
safe to say that all long sleeve shirts and baggy jeans should
only contain metal snaps. The short sleeve shirt and polyester
type pants can contain either metal or plastic snaps.
Metal and plastic snaps can be found on
Bo's shirts and pants.
Many more short sleeve shirts and pants with plastic snaps
were produced compared to the short sleeve and lighter denim
type pants with plastic snaps. The majority of collectors
does not care or differentiate between the plastic and metal
snaps. All versions can be found with persistence.
The thread used to secure the snaps to Bo's shirt was initially
white and designed to match the shirt color. Since the thread
color is very visible, both Bo and Luke shirts have snaps
sewn to the shirts with thread targeted to match the shirt
color. It would not be unheard of to see a Bo shirt containing
a thread color other than white. This would be rare, but don't
throw it on E-Bay yet, as it probably will not make a difference
in value. The thread used to secure the snaps to Bo's pants
was initially brown. You can see below how the thread color
varied so much for Luke's pants, but why was this not the
case for Bo's pants? It seems that only brown thread was used
to sew the snaps to Bo's pants. It would not be a shock and
almost make more sense to see some Bo pants have snaps sewn
with different color thread, but again it will have just about
no impact of the value. You may even see an E-Bay auction
advertising their loose
The various thread colors used for Luke's pants are shockingly
non existent for Bo's pants.
Bo figure with the "the SUPER RARE Bo figure with red thread".
Go check out your loose Bo's pants to see what color thread you
have!
Graying Heads
Bo and Luke heads are notorious for turning gray or discoloring.
A large number of Bo and Luke heads have that ugly gray appearance
also commonly seen on other later 8" figures. Bo can have a
gray head inside a 1980 or 1981 cards. The entire head can be gray
or even just portions of the head can be gray. Towards the very
end, Mego solved the graying issue as tail end Dukes of Hazzard
figures and all 8" heads no longer discolored to become gray.
Finding a carded Bo or Luke without a gray head and on a high grade
card can be done, but it is not that easy. When one becomes available
for sale, the price usually is higher than normal.
All the Bo Duke variations can be found and will not cause you to
skip a car payment to purchase them. High-grade cards with non-gray
heads will command higher prices, but never cross the $100 threshold.