I'm not 100% sure why I got any SilverHawks, I remember vaguely digging the show what with its science trivia and all, but the fact I own a Copper Kidd astounds me. Why would I want a more or less mute space mime that can fly? I can't figure it out. The line was the typical Kenner size and articulation, but the line was unusual in that the entire line of good guys seemed to be vac-metalized. Even odder, the metal has held up over the years, unlike the materials used in Beast Wars and subsequent toy lines. As cliche as it is, they really did build them to last.
As a spiritual sibling to ThunderCats and born of the same studio, you had another instance of what amounted to toy gang warfare where the good guys were some quasi-space western heroes and could al fly. Heck, their pilot was basically a singing cowboy type. The Copper Kidd figure (and the rest) had a nifty action feature where if you squeezed their legs, the arms would pop out in a sort of "flight" mode. This same mechanism would be adopted in other lines, particularly Kenner's early movie Batman toys. It works pretty well, and the cape does have a habit to pop off. Heck, my Copper Kidd's arms would pop off, getting them back in the "clips" in his torso is a pain in the neck but totally doable.
Given the vac-metal covering, the figure is a harder plastic and feels like he might shatter if you chuck him against the wall. (Solution: do not do this.) There's not a lot of deco to be had here, his face is blue and white (mime) and there's a green SilverHawks symbol on his chest. The animation model had a little more detail, with painted black lines and a pink nose, but such was the case of 1980s toys. For some reason, the figure's head reminds me a little of Tracy Morgan and I can't quite say why.
His companion bird May Day clips to his wrist, barely, and to be honest is a wonky accessory. It doubles as a whistle for the kid to blow on, but it's almost too heavy to be held by the figure while standing. The aforementioned cloth cape plugs into the figure's back and clips on to his wrists, which is handy for keeping it in place. Like the best figures, it's quite simple and doesn't disappoint. Unlike most figures, it's a whistling space mime, so... yeah. You probably aren't going to want to get one, but I have a hard time knocking the figure's design for holding up so well and I'm amazed the figure doesn't look all scraped up and broken at this point.
Loose samples are somewhat inexpensive ($10-$20) but cared ones are north of $100. The line had a real charm to it, if you had a connection to this line as a kid I have to assume these are basically spiritual objects of some sort. The line is pretty neat, if you ever get a chance to get your hands on the vehicles or figures there are quite a few awesome action features. Sure, it's a lackluster sidekick to ThunderCats but let's be honest: it's not like ThunderCats was any good anyway. I'm not going to suggest you track this one down, necessarily, but it's a neat artifact from the days where a toy line would also be paired with a 65-episode TV series and loads of cool vehicles.
Unsurprisingly, this line hasn't been tapped for a revival. Heck, neither has TigerSharks, and ThunderCats basically died at birth in 2011. The humanimal super team from the 1980s is a thing that just can't get any traction these days.
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