Review – Transformers Universe Tankor

“Other Decepticons would call Tankor a dirtbag, if it wasn’t for the high-octane fuel he supplies to them. He’s a sleazy liar who will steal or manipulate anyone, so long as it helps him get his way. As such, he fits right into the most dangerous battlegrounds across the universe, where survival depends on maintaining an advantage. The only reason other Decepticons will have anything to do with him is that he always seems to have a supply of fuel when everyone else is tapped out.”
— from the back of the card

Summer, 1986. I was working two part-time jobs and the money that I earned was mine to do with as I pleased. Which meant that quarters were spent at the arcade, dollars were spent at the ice cream shack, and $5 bills were transformed into . . . well, Transformers were a pretty common purchase at the time. And one of those purchases was the Triple Changer known as Octane. Octane wasn’t my first choice the day that I bought him — I wanted Astrotrain to go along with Blitzwing, but since Astrotrain wasn’t at the store Octane came home with me — but I soon grew to love his plane and robot modes. Truck mode? Not so good.

Fall, 2008. Wandering through Target one afternoon I come across a Transformers toy that looks a hell of a lot like a modern day version of Octane. So much so, in fact, that I’ve gotta pull him off of the peg and look him over. Tankor? What the hell? Why would Hasbro change Octane’s name to Tankor? I mean, just looking at the toy you can immediately tell that this is Octane. A bit of poking around online doesn’t help much with the name mystery. No matter. Octane looks better than his Generation One version so, after some debate and then accidentally stumbling across him again later (of course I didn’t decide I wanted him until long after I first spotted him in the store), the new Tankor followed me home.

Let’s look at him.

Plane Mode

Tankor actually looks pretty damned good in plane mode. His propellers spin and guns swivel a little but otherwise he’s a solid chunk of plastic in the shape of a plane. I miss the old G1 toys and their diecast metal components, but Tankor’s actually heavy enough that he feels pretty good (which is true of most of the Transformers Universe figures I’ve played with).

Truck Mode

I’m not going to take words to teach you how to transform Tankor from plane mode to truck mode. Numerous reviews on YouTube do a far better job with video than I could do with writing out long blocks of rambling text, but I will say that the transformation is rather convoluted and involves snapping some pieces in ways that it feels like they’re going to break. I was pretty nervous a few times — I hate forcing my toys into unusual shapes and a “snap” sound is never pleasant — but in the end he fell into shape.

And not a very pleasant shape, either. The huge chunk of space between the cab and the tanker looks awful, with part of the jet mode sticking out there in the open. Plus you can see the jet’s cockpit from the rear of the vehicle. This review at www.oafe.net shows a pretty good picture of the rear of the truck.

I’m not sure why Hasbro can’t make a good looking tanker truck, but for some reason even after 23 years they didn’t improve on the original.

Robot Mode

After the disappointing truck mode I’m happy to report that Tankor’s robot mode is fantastic. He has excellent arm and leg articulation, giving Tankor a lot more poseability options than many Transformers toys. Check out the picture at right (and below) for a look at Tankor in far more active poses than many Transformers (especially older toys) can handle.

And not only is his articulation excellent, Tankor’s overall robot mode design looks really good. Sure, the hands could be better (they’re molded “fist-like” pieces), but every single piece shows some real thought and I like the fact that I can see parts of both vehicle modes in the final robot design. I appear to be a minority when it comes to liking Tankor’s robot mode, though, since some reviews at other sites really dislike this toy. Consider this statement from the review at TFArchive:

“I’d like to say that this is where things get better, but that would be a lie. Tankor’s robot mode is less of a mess than his truck mode, but he’s still horribly flawed. He doesn’t look much like the original save for his wings and a few details around the head, which is a tad disappointing.”

Tankor doesn’t have to look like the original to look good. I sometimes prefer the classics, but when it comes to the Generation One Octane toy it’s not as if we’re talking about a masterpiece.

Closing Thoughts

At $9 (the price I paid for Tankor, which is about $4 lower than most of the Transformers of this size are going for these days), Tankor is an excellent value for the money. He’s got a good looking plane mode, a great looking robot mode, and a pitiful looking truck mode. One of the reasons that I loved the Triple Changers when I was a kid — and why they’re still great toys today — is the fact that while a robot that turns into a jet is cool, a robot that turns into a jet and a truck is awesome.

Tankor’s not the best Transformer, but it’s nice to see Hasbro trying to give the kids today a little of the fun that I had 23 years ago. Even if they did ruin his name.

Philip Reed isn’t happy that Hasbro changed Octane’s name to Tankor. It’s a stupid, minor thing that shouldn’t even bother him, but Philip is old and doesn’t like to see his childhood memories warped and damaged. You know, like George Lucas likes to do every chance that he gets.