M.A.S.K.
Kenner
1985 - 1986
M.A.S.K. - Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. The life of M.A.S.K. started out as a seventy-five episode syndicated television series which ran from 1985 to 1986. It featured a special task force featuring an array of characters, led by Matt Trakker, with transforming vehicles engaged in an ongoing battle against the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (an acronym for the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem), with an emphasis on super-powered masks worn by the characters on the show.
Kenner produced a series of toys which ran twice as long as the actual television show (1985-1988). The series focused mainly on the vehicles, but still managed to produce several figures which were packed in with each vehicle and playset as well as on bubble cards of their own.
The two packs of figures only contained the figures and their masks.
Advenure packs were single pack figures that included an assortment of accessories.
Mystery Adventure Packs were the final release of stand alone figures.
The "meat" of the series definitely lied in the vehicles. Kenner appeared to put the majority of their efforts and production value into the four waves.
The final wave of vehicles produced were under the sub series "Split Seconds". These were based off of the final ten episodes of the show (season 2), where the series focused more on a racing premise as opposed to M.A.S.K. vs. V.E.N.O.M.
***UPDATE***
An anonymous reader commented to let us know that the above is not actually entirely correct. As the reader clarified for us, none of the Split Seconds vehicles appeared in the show at all. The wave prior to it which contained Wildcat, Bulldog, etc. appeared in the racing episodes.
Thanks, anonymous!
The only playet produced for the line was Boulder Hill. In terms of playsets, it didn't offer much interactive play, but was still a great addition to the line.
M.A.S.K. is a hit or miss show with the majority of people who watched it. They either loved it, or hated it. For those select fans who loved it, the toys are a great addition to their collections, and a fond memory of a cherished childhood.
For those fans, please enjoy the opening theme from M.A.S.K.
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Haven't found these in India as they were not that much popular here
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article! It's helpful to have all the images together like that instead of having to click through four billion links. I've been trying to match masks to characters and characters to vehicles. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLet us know if you need any help matching those masks up.
DeleteI want to buy some figures... Do you have figures for sale?
DeleteSorry, no. We don't sell any of the toys we have on our site. The Toy Box is simply for archival and educational purposes.
DeleteHi there, your article is slightly wrong, none of the split seconds vehicles appeared in the show at all. The wave before that, Wildcat, Bulldog etc appeared in the racing episodes.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Thank you for the clarification. We appreciate input like this from all readers.
DeleteAre there any preservation efforts going on regarding archival of the box artworks? I remember those wonderful paintings on the European boxes, and I was hoping that somewhere on the web these would have been scanned at high resolution (300 or 600 dpi), but never found anything. One site had some photo of the print proofs of some adventure blister cards, which would be perfect for scanning. I would be even happier if the uncropped artworks (without logos or texts) could be found. Does anybody know who the artists were that painted these images?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we don't have any of the answers you're looking for. We don't know of any museums actively looking to preserve toy cardbacks or boxes, nor do we know of any collectors who have done so.
DeleteAs for the artwork itself, unfortunately that too we don't know. Toys in the 80's really didn't showcase who the designers of any of the toys / packaging were done by.
hey guys, is there any information on who created the designs of the toys? also, anyone here that is a fan that has s=done any work on the actual vehicles help me with the " chrome " parts? like the Rhino exhaust cannons and front bumper? much appreciated !!!!!
ReplyDeleteVery creative line. I never realized how small these were until I saw them at Echo Base. But scale totally makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThe detail was really good for the size.
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