M.A.S.K. stands for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. It consisted of four series of toys and a cartoon. The show had two main points. First, there were normal vehicles which could change into alternate modes. Like we see above, an example of this was that a car could change to be able to fly. These transformations were usually fairly simple, allowing for sturdiness and playability in both modes. The second point was that the pilots each had a MASK or large helmet that had special abilities. Some acted like scanners, holographic copiers or other tools. Others could shoot energy darts or had some other offensive weapon. The MASKs were used extensively in the show for their abilities, but the toy line was all about the transforming vehicle. These toys captured my imagination even more than Transformers because you could sit in your dads car and imagine how it could fly or turn into a submarine. There have been several toy lines since that have had a similar change process, such as Hasbro’s Spy Changer Transformers. But none have done it as well as MASK.
The Thunderhawk was the vehicle of the main character, Matt Trakker. It was a Camaro that had gull wing doors that could open like wings so the car could fly. The toy comes with a Matt Trakker action figure (shoulder, hip and knee articulation), his MASK (called Spectrum) and two bombs. Early toy versions of the MASKs were show accurate. Later versions had a large extra portion that fitted over the chest and/or back to help keep it on.
Thunderhawk has sticker applications, some chrome parts, rubber tires and soft plastic seat belts. In this case, the seat belts are not just a cool feature, they keep the figure from falling out when in jet mode. The transformation mechanism is spring-loaded and activated from a button on the roof. The exhaust pipes can manually extend from the doors to extend the wingspan. The back bumper rises to expose jet thrusters and raise the spoiler like a stabilizer.
The bombs could be dropped together by pushing the thrusters.
I have three or four of these and this is the best one. The spring to hold the wings up is not as tight as it was thirty years ago, so one wing droops a little.
Points to look at when collecting Thunderhawk are good stickers, properly functioning transformation mechanism, tire condition and broken or worn chrome parts and seat belts. The tips of the chrome exhaust pipes are supposed to be guns, but often are broken off. Mine has one intact and the other broken. The seat belt has tabs at the shoulder on both sides, so the passenger and pilot can strap in, but it is often broken or missing. Often lost accessories include the two bombs and Matt’s MASK. Look for the long MASK (newer version) or short MASK (original version).
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