There comes a time when a toy looks interesting enough to pick up but there is that little voice that says, not now it can wait for a sale. Well I will say I'm glad that I picked this one up cheap as I feel he is only worth the $5 I paid for him. Without any further delay I present to you Transformers Generations Deluxe Class Tankor.
To say this figure is a disappointment is not what I felt when I first held him in hand. I knew with my own research what the potential I would receive but to have any little doubts removed about Tankor and more or less confirmed is what disappointed me. *Spoilers* The Beast Wars that turned into Beast Machines, we saw Rhinox's spark stolen and placed in the vehicon named Tankor. With an awesome release of Voyager scale Rhinox I knew a Deluxe figure would pale in comparison size wise but before I go bashing this figure any further I should start with what I do enjoy.
Starting with bot mode the overall look is ripped directly from the CGI model from Beast Machines, something that was needed over the original incarnation of Beasties Tankor. The paint applications are sharp and they pull in the right amount of detailing, from the stripes on the shoulder pads, the missiles on the chest picked out, the silver mouth plate and the yellow lights on the sides of the head. The arms convey a lot of emotion with their double jointed elbows, upper bicep swivel with a matching forearm swivel. That combination of joints allow you to pose claw hands in countless number of position.
Those expressive arms do their best to make up for the lack of articulation in the rest of the figure. Now don't get me wrong, this is no G1 brick as all the traditional joints found in today's Deluxe figures and yet those joints are lost due to the nature of making an almost complete screen accurate toy. The legs have hips joints that move in, out and up and down, an upper thigh swivel, a decent knee bend and the feet do pivot back and forth. It is those feet that limit the actual poses you can manipulate Tankor into. I have tried a dozen or so attempts but with each try Tankor appears to be an ungraceful figure skater. If you ever watch the TV show, Tankor just rolled around on his large tank tread feet so there is no real loss there.
The head sculpt is right on the money but in the show the face had more possible poseibility versus this toy. The extent of the movement is left and right and if that weren't enough, it is further limited by the shoulders. The head can do a full 360 but it hops and jumps all over the raised sections from the collar bone area. Adding to the block feel is the lack of waist articulation but in fairness the transformation prevents even the idea of even engineering one. Thankfully the waist and chest piece do their best to cover up what is perhaps the largest gap I have ever personally seen in a modem day Transformer.
The cannon over the right shoulder adds to almost spot on representation of the Beast Machines model but it is severely lacking in details. With the almost spot on paint details I doubt even a company like Reprolabels will produce a kit to add what is missing. The lack of poseibility continues into that cannon. It clips in just behind the shoulder on a C Clip and being on a long solid pivoting arm, it freely moves up, forward and back. That pivoting arm in bot mode only looks good in the over the shoulder or resting on the back but due to the lack of a swivel joint allowing side to side motion, this friction blaster just sits there like the chunk of plastic that it is.
Transformation is fairly simple and intuitive. Everything pegs in quite nicely in robot mode and that continues into alt mode. Start with moving the cannon up and back out of the way, straighten out the arms and using the double jointed elbows bend the arms up so the forearms are flush with the biceps. Next you want to unpeg the shoulders from the back and move that and the chest assembly forward. Bend the feet down and flip down the covers over the treads. Move the legs off to the side using the waist joint and complete the flip down of the chest section on the double jointed hinge. Move the legs back into position, pegging them into the former crotch piece. Take the folded up arms and flip them inwards and make sure the shoulder pads are under the collar bone section of the head assembly. Next tab in the head into the pegs that are present on the forearms, move the cannon into position and you are done.
Much like with bot mode I will start with what I like in alt mode. Are you ready for the list? Are you sitting comfortably? Have your favourite snack or drink handy? Good, well here it is. It rolls nice.
OK, now that I've got that out of the way lets have a closer look at Tankor in well, his tank mode. First thing is first, he suffers from visible everything! You can clearly see his head, hands and chest. Now I know what you are going to say and that is, well you saw his head in the CGI cartoon so why should a screen accurate toy be any different? To that I have no argument, but when reviewing the on screen look of Tankor the rest of what I mention seems to have been blended into other parts of the CGI model. From the looks of the design you could be confused with this being a one step changer and the transformation would just be to stand him up and you're done. The flaps that covered the shins, now expose a large gap behind the forward treads, while the arms now fill in that chest gap I mentioned earlier.
While I do feel they got the portions for the length as close to accurate it is the width that leaves something to be desired for. While in this mode no one will call him 'Fat' Tankor. Looking straight down the front you cannot help but see how skinny this tank is when compared the height and length. Without anything hidden the paint apps that were wonderful in assisting the look of this toy in bot mode continue into alt mode but a feel the grey plastic that was used could have been a shade or two darker.
It has been awhile since a figure has not impressed me and sadly I know I am not the only one that feels this. With the awesome releases of Beast Wars Rhnox, Waspinater and Rat Trap a part of me was hoping for updated versions of the Beast Machine vehicons. With this first offering anything else will just not line up in scale in either mode. If this designed shared the same scale as his beast mode counterpart this may have tipped the scale more in favour. We may have received more articulation in the head, the cannon as well additional girth allowing for a more in scale look with Thrust and Jetstorm, but those dreams like this toy will fall flat.
Now there is room for improvement. The cannon that just clips on with a C Clip could be replaced with a third party or 3D printed offering. There is no need for it to spin as it does in the CGI cartoon, but added side to side movement and perhaps the addition of the Key to Vector Sigma, but for now I will work with the IDW inspired cannon.
I will add this. If there is a artist out there that currently does 3D printing and you require a Tankor for measurements to produce a new cannon I will be more than willing to lend you my figure so you can begin your work. All I ask for in return is of course the figure returned (no rush) and a version of the cannon you have designed. I'm just putting that out there. For now I shall pose those wonderful arms in a head scratching pose, place Tankor at the back of my shelf, as he sits and wonders what a great toy he could have been if they started by making him Voyager scale.
TheRealRonin
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