Octane, AKA Tankor

Yes, the packaging calls him Tankor, but this figure is an update of the third year Generation One Transformers figure Octane, not the Vehicon tank general from Beast Machines. I'm sticking with my preference for the name Octane for this review.

Why did I buy this?

A test shot of the unpainted prototype made it look really cool. Months later my brother came upon it at the store, but told me he passed on it because in person it looked lame. I bought one anyway.

Any regrets?

Well, my brother was right. Octane is disappointing. Two of his three modes are lackluster, and when one of those is his robot mode, that's a big problem in my eyes.

Let's start with the robot mode. He doesn't have hands; he has wedges with figures sculpted on them. The halves of the cockpit sit on the top of his shoulders in an unappealing manner. The upper arms consist of molded immobile tires and thin strips of plastic. The torso is too small. The legs look ridiculous. The weapons are lame. Seriously, there's a comb-like blade that's too big to get the figure into a decent pose while holding it, and there are two guns attach to one another to create . . . a gun that sits on top of another gun.

The truck mode is weak, not looking like any lorry I've ever seen. Additionally, the instructions and the packaging don't tell you that the two guns attach to the cab to become the smoke stacks (which is kind of clever). I'm not even going to mention the scale issues with other vehicles because, hey, this is a tractor truck that converts into a cargo plane, and you should have seen the problem with that going in. Speaking of the cargo plane, that mode is pretty decent, but it's a bitch changing the toy from that mode to truck mode, because it involves folding the wings together, which is made difficult by the four propellers on the end.

Am I happy with my purchase?

Not really. Sure, it's a Decepticon to help boost the ranks, but every time I pick it up to fiddle around it, I end up disappointed and place it back on the shelf.