Silverhawks was a small toyline produced by Kenner hot on the heels of a popular Rankin-Bass TV show of the same name. The television show rode the enormous popularity of Rankin-Bass’s Thundercats, but the producers opted to partner with Kenner instead of LJN. The toyline debuted in 1987, and scarcely lasted into 1988.
The toys themselves were action figures modeled after Kenner’s highly successful Super Powers Collection. Each figure was about 4-5 inches tall, and had some sort of action feature, typically triggered by squeezing the legs. Each early figure included a bird companion with an action feature of its own, while later figures included some other action accessory. The hero figures were extensively decorated with vacuum-metalized “chrome” in a variety of colors.
The scale of the figures allowed the production of various vehicles and beasts designed to interact with the action figures. These were designed in much the same vein, with various attacks and mechanisms triggered by buttons, and firing projectiles.
Without the support of an ongoing TV cartoon, however, the line floundered. Many of the late releases were very scarce due to lost retailer interest, and many more of the Silverhawks items shown in a 1988 Kenner product catalog were never produced. Most all of the innovations used by Silverhawks began in other toylines, and the line had no real lasting effect on the toy industry as a whole.
