Vampire, a touring motorcycle that turns into a flying “Turbo Cycle”, was part of the second wave of M.A.S.K. toys released in 1986. Floyd Malloy, an agent of V.E.N.O.M., was included with the toy, along with his “Buckshot” mask that, in the lore of the toy line, shot ball bearings. I’m assuming those ball bearings were meant to trip up anyone from M.A.S.K. that might be pursuing him.
Vampire’s transformation from motorcycle to “Turbo Cycle” was done with a simple push of the button on the back of the bike. The sides of the saddlebags came down, two “stabilizers” flipped up, and the windshield section of the bike flipped down. The weapons on the Turbo Cycle included a “Boomerang Atom Blaster” under the hood and two “Retro Rockets” hidden inside the saddlebags that shot out thanks to tension in the fins. There were also weapons on the stabilizers, called “Laser Tracers”, and in the wings, known as “Dreadwing Detonators”, but these weren’t physical items, but lived on only in the minds of kids and Kenner designers.
Vampire was one of the lower price point vehicles in the second series of toys, coming in with a retail price of $9.99 (~$28 today). This puts it in line with Firefly, but below the mid-tier toys from the same series, like Hurricane, which had a retail price of $19.99 (~$58). And well below the $39.99 Outlaw (~$116 today), the massive semi-truck mobile headquarters of V.E.N.O.M. These lower-tier vehicles were smaller than full-size cars, typically in the motorcycle family, and usually transformed with a simple click of a button. In addition, to keep costs down, there were only a few simple actions to change modes, and they didn’t usually come with too many accessories. But they were something kids could afford with their birthday or Christmas money and still be able to enjoy what the toy line offered.
I have no idea when I got Vampire, but I’m guessing it was for Christmas or my birthday that year. I can’t say it’s one of my favorite M.A.S.K. toys, as it never really gave the full illusion that it was just a regular motorcycle toy – the spikes on the saddlebags always gave away that it was something different. And even as a kid, I knew there was no way that thing could fly with wings that tiny, I don’t care how big the rocket boosters on the sides were. However, I do remember having more than one adventure with the Vampire, so much so that I apparently lost one of the rockets over the years. Unfortunately, replacements sell for about $15 each (including shipping) on eBay, and I’m just not sure I’m too worried about having a complete toy at this point. Maybe if I still had the box I’d be more concerned, but, unfortunately, that was thrown out with the wrapping paper years ago. While it might not have been one of my favorite M.A.S.K. toys, it’s still a beloved part of my collection and sits prominently on a shelf as part of my collection.
