Unique Toys seem set on making Masterpiece scaled figures of characters from the third season of The Transformers. They've made Blurr who we looked at previously and their take on Sandstorm is due out in the near future. And then there's today's focus - Fuel Supply Provider, their take on a Masterpiece Octane/Tankor (and as such this figure will be referred to as Octane from here on out).
Unlike his fellow triple changing Decepticons Octane only really featured in two episodes of the original cartoon. In one he teamed up with Trypticon to steal world monuments for Carbombya (yes, this "joke" nation is as offensive as it sounds). In the other he palled around first with Sandstorm then later Starscream's ghost while trying to escape bounty hunters sent by Galvatron.
Truck mode:
Octane's land based alt mode is a tanker truck. When I first saw pictures of this mode I must admit I was unhappy with it. For some reason I had in my mind that this should be a truck cab and trailer set up. A Google image search quickly showed me I had the wrong sort of truck in mind and knowing what the designers were going for this has become my favorite of the two alt modes.
There are a lot of nice details in this mode. The head and tail lights are clear plastic pieces as are the windscreen and side windows. Each of the wheels has chromed rims and rubber tires so the truck mode rolls really nicely. The guard rails to the rear of the tank are also a very nice touch.
From side on you can see a bit of plane junk hanging out under the truck. Some parts have detailing on them to do their best to blend in. For example the plane tail fin has the steps up to the truck cab molded onto them. The part that probably stands out the most are the jet engines sitting between the rear wheels. And it's pretty obvious that the rear of the tank is the front of the plane despite the nose cone tucking inside for the most part.
Like most official Masterpiece figures Octane has an attack mode. One where you plug his gun into the top of his vehicle mode. I haven't taken a picture of it. The plug hole is partway down the tank and allows the gun to be plugged in either way. Which means the plane also has an attack mode.
Octane makes for a small truck. But small trucks do exist. I think the scale here is up for debate. It probably is a tad smaller than it should be but I don't mind it.
Plane mode:
Octane's plane mode looks very nice. When the first pictures came out I was sold on this mode before the truck mode. Everything holds together solidly so you can swoosh this plane around to your hearts content.
The top portion of the truck cab is tucked under the rear of the plane. And the truck mode wheels end up visible on the plane mode engines. This sort of thing is unavoidable really. I personally think the wheels/engines pairing is a clever work around that gives the plane the right silhouette even at angle when the tires are clearly visible.
While the truck modes scale may be debatable the plane modes is not. As nice as it looks this alt mode is way to small next to other Masterpiece Transformers. That said a plane was never going to scale well with a tanker truck to begin with. The truck mode should be able to fit inside this sort of plane!
Transformation:
I'm not going to try and describe the whole transformation this time around. I think the important thing to mention here is just how well the transformation works. Sure, there are some noticeable plane parts in truck mode and vice versa but on the whole each mode is it's own distinct thing.
Octane uses a lot of panels to achieve his transformation but isn't a shellformer. A number of these panels exist to make transformation easier. Fold them out of the way, move what you need to move and then fold them back again. Everything tabs together solidly.
The whole process is involved but not difficult. Which, in my opinion, is what makes for a fun transformer. Octane is fun to play with.
Robot mode:
From truck to plane to impressively chunky robot mode. Octane has all the articulation of your standard Masterpiece Transformer. With relatively large feet he's nice and stable when posed as well. His hands firmly grip his gun and the wings don't impede on his articulation. They do make him a bit of a shelf space hog though.
The robot mode is carrying a decent amount of kibble on his back. And I'm not counting the wings as kibble as they clearly reference the original toy and his cartoon/comic character model. While most of the front of the plane becomes Octane's arms there's still a good amount that ends up layered on his back. It does collapse down as much as possible but if kibble offends you won't like what's left.
The head sculpt is very angular. This and his gaunt cheeked face might put some people off. It seems to take cues from the style of the IDW comics over the original cartoon. If you don't like it remember that it could be worse. Unique Toys could've used Marvel comics bug eyed design!
Even if the scale on his alt modes is iffy I think Octane looks right at home among the other Masterpiece Decepticons. He's just a touch shorter than a Seeker. While you can't really trust the G1 cartoon for accurate measurements this does seem about right for when Octane interacted with Starscream's ghost.
Final thoughts:
I own a number of Unique Toys figures and have been really happy with them. Octane is no exception. I imagine the engineering involved in making a Transformer is not simple. Making a triple-changer must be even harder still.
With Octane Unique Toys have succeeded in making a solid triple-changer. While a bit of the plane mode is visible in truck mode (and vice versa) each mode still feels distinct. I don't feel any mode was sacrificed for the sake of the other two or that one of the alt-modes was worked in as an after thought. The scale may bug some people but Octane is very welcome to stand with my Masterpiece Decepticons.
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