Joining us today for our Fan Spotlight: Arthur O'Neill
MASKFORCE (MF): Thanks so much for joining us today and having a chat. Why don't you kick it off by telling us about yourself and your journey into M.A.S.K Arthur O'Neill (AN): I’m Arthur from Dublin, Ireland. Christmas 1986, I was 6 years old, when the big man brought me M.A.S.K’s Rhino to be followed for the next two Christmases with the likes of Boulder Hill, Switchblade, Thunderhawk, etc. Between those three years my brother and myself had approximately 20 vehicles from series 1 through 3, including Boulder Hill. I think by the time series four arrived we had moved on to the magic of the ‘Sega Megadrive’. The collection with 99% of all parts (without original boxes) has being in storage in my parent’s attic since the early 90’s, with the exception of Rhino (my childhood favourite) who has always been on display somewhere over the years.  MF: So have you been actively collecting since then? AN: In March 2020 with the Covid-19 lockdown for some reason or another I sought out that golden treasure collection – surprised how well kept they were, with original stickers mostly in tact. I was curious to see what vehicles I was missing from the 1 – 3 series. It was then that I opened Pandora’s box and went down the rabbit hole. The 20 vehicles in March has grown to 43 (not interested in series 4, at least for now!) including two Boulder Hills, two Rhinos and two Outlaws (my present day favourite vehicle, sorry about that Rhino).
MF: Wow that was really fast. What I really wanted to talk to you about was your customs. AN: Yes please, so one of my Boulder Hills is a custom called ‘Viper Hill’ . I have also done some other custom vehicles, such as Condor, Stinger, Rhino, Buzzard x2 (Red & Green versions), Pit Stop & The Collector, etc. As you can probably see I have also started to do custom boxes – the likes of Boulder Hill (See images above), Viper Hill (See images above), Outlaw and Switchblade. MF: So what's next in you M.A.S.K journey  AN: There are still some ideas I have in the pipeline. As much as I love the pieces – I strongly believe that all of us are just tapping into the magic of our childhood memories and these little pieces of plastic are a tangible way of doing so! I must say I have been speaking to some sound people on the various M.A.S.K facebook groups. I have sent M.A.S.K parts free of charge, including postage worldwide to different members over the past few months. In return, I too have received parts and advise from others, which is what makes my experience of the M.A.S.K community a great past-time/hobby in the extraordinary times we are all going through. Finally congrats and well done to Robert Grignani for his amazing contribution to the community with his www.maskforce.com and Rob as of today’s writing of this blurb 27th October 2020 a very happy birthday to you mate. On a final note, a big shout to Andre Lehnertz, Mark Gahagan, James Morgan, Holger Werminghaus and Greg Gibson, many of whom you’ll know. MF: Thanks so much for chatting with us today Arthur. You can check out more of Arthur's recreations on his community page. For any further information you can reach out directly to Arthur via Facebook or contact us.
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Big news hit today that has tongues wagging! Hasbro have just revealed two vehicles inspired by M.A.S.K during their Hasbro Pulse Fan First Friday: Transformers Livestream Report as part of the Amazon Exclusive Transformers Micron Micromasters Pack! Is this the start of a resurrection that has been teased since the previously released Specialist Trakker from the "A Real American Hero" G.I. Joe franchise in 2008. It only took another whopping 9 years for the 2017 SDCC exclusive Revolution Matt Tracker to be released as a tie in with IDW comics series of the same name. This is however the first time a vehicle with an element of M.A.S.K has been released! The only 3 year gap between releases is also encouraging.
Big news hit today that has tongues wagging! Hasbro have just revealed two vehicles inspired by M.A.S.K during their Hasbro Pulse Fan First Friday: Transformers Livestream Report as part of the Amazon Exclusive Transformers Micron Micromasters Pack! Is this the start of a resurrection that has been teased since the previously released Specialist Trakker from the "A Real American Hero" G.I. Joe franchise in 2008. It only took another whopping 9 years for the 2017 SDCC exclusive Revolution Matt Tracker to be released as a tie in with IDW comics series of the same name. This is however the first time a vehicle with an element of M.A.S.K has been released! The only 3 year gap between releases is also encouraging.
Both Hurricane and Stinger have been reimagined as Windstorm and Stingracer!!! Lets take a look at these two! The hints are already in the name! A “Hurricane” is technically a “Windstorm”. “Stinger” and “Stingracer”??? Come on! Windstorm is an Autobot and Hurricane was part of M.A.S.K. Likewise Stingracer is a Decepticon and was part of V.E.N.O.M! Then the vehicles themselves! Not only are the vehicles colours pretty close but Windstorm has the flames from Hurricane and Stingracer has the smokes stacks and exposed turbo manifold from Stinger! Both Hurricane and Stinger have been reimagined as Windstorm and Stingracer!!! Lets take a look at these two! The hints are already in the name! A “Hurricane” is technically a “Windstorm”. “Stinger” and “Stingracer”??? Come on! Windstorm is an Autobot and Hurricane was part of M.A.S.K. Likewise Stingracer is a Decepticon and was part of V.E.N.O.M! Then the vehicles themselves! Not only are the vehicles colours pretty close but Windstorm has the flames from Hurricane and Stingracer has the smokes stacks and exposed turbo manifold from Stinger!
If you still had a doubt about this being a coincidence, Hasbro’s Brand writer Amanda sums it up perfectly! “Some of you might be wondering who Windstorm and Stingracer are? And those that remember the MASK toys might have noticed the deco on these. So these are actually inspired by classic MASK vehicle toys Stinger and Hurricane!” There you have it! “Inspired by classic MASK vehicle toys”. Do these two vehicles do justice to Stinger and Hurricane? Is this the rebirth of M.A.S.K? We will let you be the judge of that. Check out the full podcast below, with the introduction to the second episode of the Galatic Odyssey collection which includes the two vehicles inspired by M.A.S.K at 18:20. If you want to just get to the money shots of the vehicles check out Windstorm AKA Hurricane at 19:42 OR Stingracer AKA Stinger at 19:49! If you still had a doubt about this being a coincidence, Hasbro’s Brand writer Amanda sums it up perfectly! “Some of you might be wondering who Windstorm and Stingracer are? And those that remember the MASK toys might have noticed the deco on these. So these are actually inspired by classic MASK vehicle toys Stinger and Hurricane!” There you have it! “Inspired by classic MASK vehicle toys”. Do these two vehicles do justice to Stinger and Hurricane? Is this the rebirth of M.A.S.K? We will let you be the judge of that. Check out the full podcast below, with the introduction to the second episode of the Galatic Odyssey collection which includes the two vehicles inspired by M.A.S.K at 18:20. If you want to just get to the money shots of the vehicles check out Windstorm AKA Hurricane at 19:42 OR Stingracer AKA Stinger at 19:49!
This set will be available for sale in December 2020 and shipped in February 2021! Head on over to Amazon to read more about it and place your pre-order Now!
This set will be available for sale in December 2020 and shipped in February 2021! Head on over to Amazon to read more about it and place your pre-order Now! |
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