It's nice to see a Beast Machines homage for the 30th Anniversary, even if Tankor is the only one-- I'm glad to see this oft-overlooked series get SOME recognition, at least. Anyways, Tankor's vehicle mode gets some of the "big strokes" right-- robot head poking up obviously, large cannon, many of the details-- but the proportions in this mode are way off. He's far too long when compared to his show model, and his robot head should be almost at the back ot the vehicle, not just slightly behind the midpoint of this mode going back. He's also a bit too skinny in terms of the width, and his tank mode isn't visually separated into two "segments" like it was on the show. There is, however, an ugly "hollow-looking" gap on the sides, about two-thirds of the way back, which should have been covered up by a panel or two-- the same goes for some gaps in between the pieces on the top that become his lower robot legs and robot chest. His cannon is also a bit off, with the three (molded together) segments that should rotate unable to while also being considerably oversized proportionally. The cannon itself is a push missile launcher that fires out a translucent red missle if you pull back on the front gray segment, though the transparent missile sticks out a bit too much from the front of the cannon in its default position. The cannon can move up and down at two points, but at the point nearer to the base if you rotate it back much it leaves a rather ugly gap in between the cannon and the rest of Tankor's tank mode. Tankor's head "view" is also partially obstructed by his robot chest details, another big no-no that is not at all show-accurate either. However, on the plus side, Tankor's color scheme is quite faithful to his show model, with a good amount of dark metallic blue-- itself a really nice shade-- and semi-metallic gunmetal gray on areas like his cannon and treads. There's also quite a bit of grayish blue plastic-- this is SLIGHTLY off from his show model with his show model being a bit more on the grayish-white side, but it's close enough for me and also works as both a contrast color against Tankor's darker shades while complementing his dark blue pretty well, too. He's also got a considerable number of paint apps-- the yellow stripes near the back end look particularly nice, as does all the red and yellow paint detailing on his robot chest and pelvis. (That said, I wish his entire jaw was painted silver instead of just the front of it, to make it more obvious where Tankor's odd-looking mouth is.) The mold detailing itself is also great, with particularly intricate detailing on places like the treads and robot chest. Nearly all of the details are show-accurate, which is always a plus for me. There's even some "circuitry line" detailing on some parts that aren't very visible in either mode, like the back of his upper legs or his robot back.
    Tankor's robot mode is more or less his tank mode standing up with arms folded out, but that's to be expected given that's how his transformation was on the show. (There are a few unexpected flips in the transformation to keep it interesting.) Thus, because so many of the details and colors that are so prominent in vehicle mode are also prominent in robot mode, his modes may not look "different enough" for many people who prefer more realistic vehicle modes. That said, this is definitely the mode that took priority in regards to the engineering, as it is EXTREMELY close to the show model (oversized shoulder cannon excepted). Because he's so stocky and a deluxe, though, he is a bit undersized given how big of a guy Tankor was in the show. Tankor's proportions are spot-on in this mode, with very broad shoulders, relatively short tread-feet, and a wide chest. (His arms could stand to be a bit bulkier, but that's about his only proportional malady, and even then they're not THAT bad.) Another minor flaw here is that his transformation is such that-- if you look at his body from the side-- you can see through most of it, but he looks solid from the vast majority of angles. As for the details, so many of them match the show model perfectly-- his head "headlights", the headsculpt itself, the (non-firing) missile pack in part of his chest, the (rotating!) saws on his forearms, and two-pronged claws that can open up and close themselves. His legs are articulated such that if you don't want his legs to be in the "chicken-walker" stance like they were on the show, you can simply turn them around to give him more "normal" legs. Speaking of articulation, Tankor can move at the neck, shoulder cannon (up and down at two points), shoulders (at three points, one of those being the shoulder "pads", elbows (at FOUR points), the aforementioned claw and forearm saw articulation, and at the hips (at two points), knees (at two points), and ankles. Given how long his feet are and how well-balanced he is, this makes him very poseable indeed for someone with his proportions-- missing waist articulation and a slight restriction at the shoulders are the only real things missing here.
    Tankor's robot mode is fantastic, and by a hair I think the best version of his Beast Machines design in that mode. However, his tank mode is so horrible and mis-proportioned with an obstructed robot head that I don't know if the sacrifice was worth it. If you want a version of this design, I'd try to get the Tank Drone mold more, even with how small of a toy it is, as that looks great in BOTH modes. I also consider his bad vehicle mode all the worse because this is the only Beast Machines homage for the 30th Anniversary part of the Generations line, and I think one of the Vehicons that never got a relatively show-accurate toy-- like Jetstorm or Obsidian-- should have been picked instead of giving Tankor a new toy when he had a perfectly good design released as the Tank Drone anyways. A buy if you're desperate to scratch that Beast Machines itch-- it's not like you have a lot of options-- but otherwise Tankor is a fairly easy pass, unfortunately.

Review by Beastbot

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