Our other update is of the more traditional variety. Photographs of three different Action Figure Packs. Kenner released a variety of these packs during the M.A.S.K. era. Each pack contained two figures and their masks. The new additions to boulder-hill.net are:

• Bruce Sato & Brad Turner
• Cliff Dagger & Sly Rax
• Matt Trakker & Hondo MacLean

If you would like to see these new images, head on over to the Toys area of the site!

• Dynamo
• Raven Box
• Manta
• Bruce Sato (Dynamo)
• Bruce Sato Clone (Dynamo)
• Parker Brothers Board Game
• Toyfare 121 Exposé

To see everything in this update you’ll have to visit almost every page of the site. Dynamo, Raven, and Manta can be found under the Toys section. Bruce and his Clone will be added to Figures. Photos of the board game have been added to the Merchandise area. And last but not least, the Toyfare images are now available on our Guides page.

Despite all the additions today, we still haven’t made it through our entire backlog of material. To top it off, we have quite a bit of new purchases coming in the mail. One package in particular, is coming all the way to us from Oslo, Norway. So come back soon and we’ll have even more for you!

As our readers may have guessed from the comic panel above, one of the toys we are able to present today is a packaged T-Bob with Scott Trakker. This is the North American release which came on a blister card. Our second addition is from the second series of toys released in the M.A.S.K. line, Stinger. Stinger was driven by Bruno ‘Mad Dog’ Sheppard who is already on display in the Figures area. Our third, and final toy, is from the third series. Wildcat is a red pickup, controlled by Buddie Hawks from the Racing Series. All three of these can be seen over in our Toys section.

As any of our readers can guess, that photo above is a picture of our newly arrived Shout! Factory DVD set. That’s right, at long last, the United States has received an official DVD release of M.A.S.K. We’re going to give you a rundown of the highlights, so strap yourself in as we take you on a tour of this awesome new release. We will also compare it against the set previously released in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

Nothing to compare from the outset. The American release from Shout! has a nice slipcase, something the Madman set lacks. This case features beautiful art and high quality printing. As you can see it showcases both Matt Trakker and Miles Mayhem standing between the M.A.S.K. logo with three of the main vehicles in action poses.

Next up, let’s take a look at the plastic DVD clamshells that hold the discs. The Madman set features more visuals, but considering the great imagery on the slipcase for the Shout! version the clamshell art is more of an addition to the slipcase than a stand-alone piece. Furthermore, as with the slipcase, the printing for the clamshell art is bright and sharp – definitely of a higher quality than the printing used on the Australian release on the right.

While box art and packaging is nice, the real test of a DVD set comes once the discs are placed in the player. Here are three side-by-side images for you to compare, in all cases the image on the left is from the new Shout! set and the image on the right is from the Madman set.

It is very clear that the menu from the new set is much nicer than the old one. The new set uses a mock-up of Matt’s computer as a home screen for episode selection and playback. The old menu is just a plain colored background with a pixelated font.

Our second image is from M.A.S.K.’s first episode, The Deathstone. It should be easy to spot that the release on the right is much drabber, while the Shout!’s new U.S. copy has significantly more vibrant colors. Another difference, that may not be as apparent at first is the sharpness. The picture in the newer version has a crispness that the right-hand image does not.

Looking at our third image you can see another benefit to the new set. Along the roof of the left-side image there are details to the roof. However, in the Madman copy the roof is far too dark, nearly black. With only a quick inspection it is evident that this newer publication from Shout! Factory delivers a superior video image.

Finally, an additional feature to the new DVD set, bonus features. Our recently received copy presents two additional features. The first is sure to please any M.A.S.K. fan. A video compiling interviews with the people who wrote M.A.S.K. episodes is available at the end of disc six. The second bonus attraction is a fun video that presents M.A.S.K. enthusiasts talking about that amazing cartoon of the 80s.

So overall the new set from Shout! Factory is definitely an improvement here. The one thing that the Madman set does outclass them in is the Racing Series. Due to different copyrights, Shout! Factory is only able to present the original 65 episode main series run of M.A.S.K. The final 10 episodes of the Racing Series can only be found on the Australian release. Hopefully this main series set does well and Shout! Factory can obtain the rights for the remaining 10 episodes and release them with the high quality we have seen in their main series production. Photos of the newly released DVD set will also be added to the Merchandise area of boulder-hill.net, including some images not seen in this review.

To find the images of Slingshot, click over to our Toy section. We have seven different photos to give you a full look at M.A.S.K.’s CRUISIN van.

We would also like to remind everyone that the new U.S. DVD release of M.A.S.K. is coming out tomorrow, August 9th. Show your support for this 80s classic and pick up a set if you can.

Anyone familiar with M.A.S.K. will know that this photo comes from the M.A.S.K. vehicle Volcano. This toy, when switched on, would drive forward, pop into attack mode and rotate the gun turret on top. All of this at the cost of two C batteries.

Volcano came with two M.A.S.K. agents, another incarnation of Matt Trakker with Lava Shot and Jacques LaFleur with Maraj. Both of these figures were previously added to boulder-hill.net and can be seen in the Figures area. To view the new photos of Volcano itself, click on over to the Toys section.

Figurines:

• Miles Mayhem (Outlaw)
• Nash Gorey (Outlaw)

Merchandise:

• Mini World Books
• Red Lunchbox & Thermos

Toys:

• Collector
• Razorback (with box)

In addition to the big content refresh, we have another function change. Along the right-hand side you can now click our RSS icon to add our feed to your reader of choice. With the RSS feed, you will be able to receive updates as soon as they happen! Finally, remember to check back soon for some big toy updates coming soon.

Often depicted in the show, but never produced as a toy, the M.A.S.K. transport plane was essential for shuttling their vehicles from one location to the next. As you can see from the photos, Alex has not only done a beautiful job recreating this unsung hero of the M.A.S.K. world, he has also built it on scale with his other, previous creations. The most recent constructions on Orion Pax’s website suggest he may be moving on from M.A.S.K. to explore other ideas. We hope he will decide to revisit the M.A.S.K. universe sometime soon. For those interested in some of Alex’s other work, click here.

Today boulder-hill.net also has a small change that should make searching and navigating around here a little easier. Every post on the site has now been categorized and a drop-down with these categories is now on the right-hand side. By selecting a specific category you can quickly and easily find the topics you’re looking for.

Some time ago M.A.S.K. started getting DVD releases. Unfortunately for many of us, they generally fell into two types: very incomplete or non-English. Then came the fantastic release from Madman Entertainment, out of Australia. An English language set; sure, it didn’t have any extras or restoration, in fact it was as bare bones as possible, but it was – finally – all seventy-five episodes available on DVD in English.

Recently, Shout! Factory (the company that has seemingly risen out of the ashes left by Rhino) announced plans to release a U.S. edition of M.A.S.K. on DVD. The day of that release is now less than one month away! On Tuesday, August 9th, M.A.S.K. will hit stores across the United States. This set will include the original sixty-five episode series one. The final ten episodes, known as the Racing Series will not be part of this set, the final ten episodes are currently owned by another company – Cookie Jar Entertainment.

The set can be ordered online either through Shout! Factory or Amazon.com. At this time, Amazon.com is offering a pre-order price of $60.99 ($9.00 less than on Shout! Factory’s official site), however, Shout! Factory is offering a M.A.S.K. iron-on transfer logo with purchase – while supplies last.

On a different note, boulder-hill.net would like to draw your attention to our Figure section. Boulder-hill.net is always looking for ways to improve, whether they are major or minor changes. The update today is simple, but something that should enhance the quality of the site greatly. All the preview images in the Figure area have been redone with increased resolution for a sharper and clearer picture. If today’s post did not excite, check back soon, our next updates will be a return to toys and merchandise!