GUIDE TO SHORT & LONG MASKS
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The infamous "Short" masks were originally released with the first wave of Series 1 in 1985. These masks appeared on the box art of the toys and were more cartoon accurate. In the second wave of series 1, released in 1986, these "short" masks were replaced with the "long" masks. The real reason for this change remains a mystery to this day, although speculations included choking hazard and ease of loss of these masks frequently are touted by fans.
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M.A.S.K: SHORT VS LONG MASKS

Alex Sector
Short Jackrabbit Mask
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 Brad Turner
​Short Hocus Pocus Mask
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Bruce Sato
Short Lifter Mask
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Buddie Hawks
Short Penetrator Mask
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Dusty Hayes
​Short Backlash Mask
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Hondo MacLean
Short Blaster I Mask
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Matt Trakker
​Short Spectrum Mask
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Matt Trakker
​Short Ultra Flash Mask
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Alex Sector
Long Jackrabbit Mask
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 Brad Turner
​Long Hocus Pocus Mask
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Bruce Sato
Long Lifter Mask
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Buddie Hawks
Long Penetrator Mask
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Dusty Hayes
​Long Backlash Mask
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Hondo Maclean
​Long Blaster I Mask
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Matt Trakker
​Long Spectrum Mask
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Matt Trakker
​Long Ultra Flash Mask
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V.E.N.O.M: SHORT VS LONG MASKS

Cliff Dagger
Short Torch Mask
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Miles Mayhem
Short Viper Mask
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Sly Rax
​Short Stiletto Mask
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Cliff Dagger
Long Torch Mask
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Miles Mayhem
​Long Viper Mask
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Sly Rax
​Long Stiletto Mask
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DIFFERENCE IN THE BOXES?

Yes! Given that the mask variants came in the second wave, there were differences in the boxes that the figures with "short" and "long" masks came in.  ​To some this may be trivial, to the completionist  being able to tell to pair your figures with their correct box is paramount. We don't judge but are only here to help you tell them apart and get your correction complete.

Using the Thunderhawk box as an example we will dive into the differences found between the two boxes.

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1) Front of Box at the bottom below the vehicle artwork
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The first release would mention both "Comic Book and Poster Included" whereas for the second release only "Poster included" was mentioned

Short: 
Comic Book and Poster Included

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Short: 
Poster Included

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2) Front of the box at the top under the vehicle name

​The first release would use a generic vehicle type. For the second release with long masks some vehicles were changed to specific cars. For example Thunderhawk was changed from "Sports Car" to " Camaro" and Jackhammer from "4x4 "to "Bronco"
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Short: 
Sports Car
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Long:
Camaro
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3) Front of the box at the top under the vehicle name

The first release included a blue and white "Proof of Purchase" seal with the General Mills logo and the vehicles name. The barcode was black on white with no border.
For the second release the barcode was blue on white with a black border. The "Proof of Purchase " was included above the barcode within the same border
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Short: 
Separate Barcode and Proof of Purchase Seal
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Long:
Barcode and Proof of Purchase Seal together
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4) Trademark and year
The first release lists the Trademark as CPG Products Corp in 1985. This compares to the second release where the Trademark is changed to Kenner Parker Toys Inc and the year to 1986
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Short: 
Trademark CPG Products Corp 1985
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Long:
Trademark Kenner Parker Toys 1986
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M.A.S.K: BOX VARIATION

Release 1: Short Mask
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Release 2: Long Mask
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V.E.N.O.M: BOX VARIATION

Release 1: Short Mask
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Release 2: Long Mask
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