Silverhawks at BK...The sad story of how I lost my Tally-Hawk.

Back in 1986 Rankin/Bass Productions introduced us kids to the Silverhawks! They were partly metal, partly real, but all action! Allegedly this cartoon was created to be the equivalent of an outer space Thundercats. It was created by the same company, had many of the same voice actors and that may be why I really liked it!

A quick synopsis of the series goes a little something like this...It's the 29th century and a big bad guy named Mon*Star has escaped from prison in the Galaxy of Limbo. A team of heroes is needed to bring him back for the crimes he has committed. Commander Stargazer recruits the best of the best for this mission and creates the Silverhawks! Each Silverhawk came with their own avian companion who helped them fight against the worst criminals in the galaxy, like Yes-Man, Hardware & Mo-Lec-U-Lar.

It was so cool and me and my brother bought into the hype. We had the toys, watched the cartoon after school and even bought a few of the Marvel Star comics! But, our minds were blown when we saw this in 1987...

Burger King had Silverhawks toys in their kids meals!!!! What? We had to go! We bugged our Mom and finally she gave in and we made our way to the local BK!

There were some cool items in this promotion like a lenticular ring & Copper Kid foil sticker, but the item we wanted most was that Tally-Hawk pencil topper! Tally-Hawk was the companion of the Silverhawks leader, Quicksilver and he was AWESOME! This really was the golden age of fast food premiums! We lucked out and got him in our meals. The next day, I had to bring him to school to show off to my classmates.

That day in school just happened to be our 1st grade class trip to the local library. I brought Tally-Hawk with me on this excursion. This would be a mistake! During our librarian's boring lecture on the Dewey Decimal system, I took out my newly gotten toy and started playing with him. My teacher saw me making Tally-Hawk fly majestically through the musty library air while making exciting "WHOOSH!" noises and she immediately took him away!

When we got back to school my teacher put my Hawk in her desk and told me I could have it back at the end of the week. The time came and I was too scared to ask for it back and I thought I would get punished if I told my Mom what happened, so my Tally-Hawk was never returned to me. Sadly, he lived in that cold, dark desk drawer for the rest of his life!

Flash forward to February of 2021. In a search for random stuff from my childhood on ebay, I found a listing for a Tally-Hawk pencil topper from BK for $4.99! I immediately clicked "Buy" and today I have been reunited with this tragic piece of childhood past. I am so glad to have this heroic hawk back in my collection and I vow to never have him taken away from me again and I can finally sleep in peace! Just so you can also witness the coolness of the Silverhawks cartoon, I have placed the intro animation below for you to enjoy. The 80's really were the best, weren't they?

My Collector's Wish List #2

I collect a lot of things from the 80s & 90s. Mostly stuff that reminds me of my childhood like toys, comics and cards. Some of these items can be pretty scarce or out of my price range. I have compiled a list of these items in the hopes that I will find them and be able to cross them off that list some day. Here are 5 items that I have on my wish list that I hope to add to my collection.

Li'l Bendable Gremlin Creatures

Average Price: $18 each

I remember loving these little creatures as a kid. Produced by Marty Toys you would find these toys everywhere from your local Shop Rite Supermarket to KB Toys.  There wasn't much to these little guys except the bendy feature, but the designs were cool and I remember Mooky being my favorite. One of my memories of owning these creatures was sharing a hot dog with my blue Mooky at a local Howard Johnson's restaurant. Those were good times!

FLEER Dragon's Lair Card Box

Average Price: $125 per box

These scratch off cards were great! Not only did you get to collect a set of cool cards & stickers but you got a game with it also! The goal as it is with most of these types of cards is to make it to the end of the maze without getting too many skulls that would end your turn. I love collecting vintage non-sport boxes of cards and this one is high on my want list.

The Smurf Chase: Wind up Gargamel

Average Price: $50

I have some vague memories of owning this figure as a very young child. I remember loving it and detaching the Smurf from the toy itself. Beyond that my memories are lost. I do know one thing though, I really was big into the Smurfs early in my life and would love to have this piece back in my possession. My Mom could tell you stories about my Smurf obsession that would make me cower as an adult. Now that you know too much, let's move on...

M.U.S.C.L.E Trash Can

Average Price: $35

There were so many ways you could have purchased your M.U.S.C.L.E. figures in the 80s. In small packs of 4, large boxes of 28 and my personal favorite the trash can filled with 10 figures. I remember my mom breaking down and buying me and my brother one of the cans while on a shopping trip to Shelby's department store. We busted that thing open while she was still shopping and sat on the steps in the store and played with our cool new toys! I still have some of my M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, but sadly the trash can has been lost.

Silverhawks Burger King Toys

Average Price: $75 per set

These toys hit a sensitive spot in me. When I was in grade school we went on a field trip to the local library, probably to learn the Dewey Decimal System. Anyway while we were there I got busted playing with my Tally-Hawk pencil topper instead of listening to the lecture. My teacher took my prized possession and I never saw it again. This tragedy needs to be amended and one day it will be when I purchase a new Silverhawks pencil topper and rise back to the height of writing utensil AWESOMENESS! Below is the commercial from 1987 for the Silverhawks Meal Pack!

To see more things on my want list, click here and check out My Collector's Wish List #1.