Let’s start at the very beginning. It’s always a very good place to start. That first time you saw the ThunderTank on TV can easily compare with the majesty of the likes of the Millennium Falcon from the big screen. Strange analogy perhaps, but the bottom line is you were so impressed with it as a kid that till this day it stands out as a vehicle (or space ship) of note. The connection is ironic, since the ThunderTank is made up of parts of the flag ship that carried our heroes to Third Earth in 1985. Point being, it etched its way into your memory banks. The vintage LJN ThunderTank did the job too, sure it was much smaller, but it certainly had you on all fours and into battle with whomever you chose to fight.
More than three decades later, and some other versions of the tank in the rear-view mirror, we get presented with the chance of expanding our collection of Super7 ULTIMATES! ThunderCats. Now remember, back in the day we were only 4 waves deep (and 1 exclusive) and at that time only Wave 1 had been delivered to us. Despite the production and delivery challenges back then, this reveal really did something special in a world that was falling apart. It united a community divided. It pulled those who were still sitting on the fence into the ring. The ThunderTank meant one thing: Super7 was VERY serious about this line.
Unlike Snake Mountain that came at the tail end of MOTUC, this massive undertaking was risky especially considering that it came out very early in the line. In short, the sceptics wasn’t sure they could pull off such a big job when they couldn’t deliver the goods on preorder. To an outsider it may have sounded plausible. But I tell you this, with a little bit of faith, and a lot of patience, believing in something you’ve wanted so badly your entire (adult) life can materialize if you visualize it hard enough. And it was clear that Super7, who knew the ins and outs of the business, had all the faith they could to deliver. And boy did they!!
We’ve been kept apprised of the ThunderTank’s progress throughout these last two years. We even had a sneak peak of it in 2022. If you think about it, it went up for preorder in February 2021. It left the factory in December 2022. Although we’re starting to receive it on the flip side of the festive season, the final product more than makes up for the understandable delays. If you haven’t held this beast in your hands yet, or seen it up close in person, no words will describe its sheer majesty.
When the first promo images of the tank and its box hit the interwebs, the usual nay-sayers said it was photoshopped. It is not. I have it on very good authority that Josh from Super7 is not a very tall or bulky gent. I on the other hand am. And when I received the box in my driveway from DHL I struggled to carry it into the house. This thing is heavy. And HUGE! The photos do not lie. It is big. Very big.
I am certainly a fan of Super7. They’ve produced action figures to lines I have always wanted. (Some TigerSharks and Bionic6 would be nice down the line too!) Besides some flaws, factory mistakes and the small margin of QC issues one can expect, they have delivered. So personally the bar has been set very high. I also own Snake Mountain, so I know that they can create proper playsets. (Here’s looking at you CATS LAIR!). But OMG, Panthro’s baby is a whole other level of fabulousness.
Hot off the tail of the impressive Electro-Charger comes the beautiful ThunderTank. With all the bells and whistles. Spared no expense, like a certain someone would say. (Again with the dinosaur references…) Brian Flynn confirmed that the budget covered everything they wanted to put in the tank. Who cannot be happy with the inclusion of Thundrillium and the debut of the invented Samoflange!! Both of these accessories feel firm, strong and definitely not cheap. The Thundrillium doesn’t even feel like a hollow shell. It looks like it could be, but it has some weight to it. The Samoflange especially is a solid piece of plastic. It is not rubbery or bendable. It’s a firm chunk of plastic with great paint and even texture at the bottom of the handle. A real shiny tool!
Joe Amaro and Nate Baertsch, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing back in the day, had to lay down a very strong foundation for Super7 to work off. The tiniest miscalculation would’ve left many unhappy collectors in the dark. And for those of you who noted that the stripes on the body of the tank isn’t cartoon accurate; well, you are correct. It is not exactly the same. But this is what was approved by WB back in the day, and that’s fine by me. In all honestly, I am actually not even going to display mine closed. Not for the foreseeable future anyway. There is just too much space to put things in.
Before I get carried away with the actual ThunderTank, let’s talk about the box art by Jason Edmiston. When that was revealed I saved the high res image and have had it as my screen background ever since. It’s a work of art indeed. I never noticed the “paint” on it, but when you hold this box up close, you’ll see the brush strokes and it makes it even more surreal. This is really an actual work of art. I wonder who owns this? It may be framed in a Super7 office somewhere. It is magnificent in every sense. I still have the questions it invoked back in the day: who is Tygra pointing at, why does only Pumyra seem to notice the mutants, who is Panthro shooting at and how can Lion-O be driving with the sword up in the air!? Silly questions, I know. We can all come up with our own interpretations, and that is what art is supposed to do. It creates conversation.
A few weeks back we saw the final box art, and it was flipped. The logos were corrected, even Jackalman’s armor was corrected. But Mumm-ra’s skirt, Pumyra’s shoulder-thingie and Tygra’s arm band stayed as is. I actually prefer the box art this way round, and visually it works superbly with the logo and name in the top right hand corner. Even the sub text in the bottom left works for me. If you didn’t know already, the box art is on both sides of the packaging. I really would have loved to see the vintage card back duplicated here with a grouping of the Good ThunderCats and Evil Mutants on display, so as to show off what is already available (and incoming). The sides have the promotional stills on and this mirrors what we got with the Electro-Charger, so I’m pleased they’re keeping in theme. I know many a fan would be upset about the mistakes present in the art. It is just such a masterpiece that I easily overlook it. Personal choice, I may add.
If you were wondering, that big box had a second box inside it before I got to the actual box. There was sufficient padding, hard corners, plastic and so on to protect my precious inner cargo. Hats off to the team who ensured that the shipping of this item will not result in any damage. Even the tank was placed in a Styrofoam bed and you can store it again here safely if you move and need to transport it without damaging it. 10 out of 10 to the packaging department!
So that’s where we get to the good parts. The insides! Boy has this beast got a belly on it!!!! The back area of the tank, where the characters used to ride in and pew pew pew the bad guys from, is such a big space that I am surprised at how many ThunderCats I can actually fit in. We have seen it in the solicitations, but it doesn’t come anything close to the clever positioning of chairs, the raised platform and surprisingly spacious (and-out-of-the-way-of-everything-around-it) turret, and the interior panels with so much imagery from the tank-rides on the show that my head is spinning with which episode I am actually watching here.
There are panels with lines crossing that makes you want to play tic-tac-toe. There are ThunderCats insignias on both the left and the right side of the back section, one with additional buttons and a black screen surrounding it. There are other panels with colored squares that resembles lights that would flicker because of some kind of measurement the tank was taking. There’s even a screen taking a measurement that eerily looks like a heartbeat monitor. Maybe it is checking the surroundings for quake activity. You’ll find dials and buttons, one even turned at a 2pm angle. There’s something that looks like a watch (with a blue dot in the centre) set at either 9:30 or 6:45 – I can’t tell because the hands are both the same length. But it’s not that, because on the opposite end of the tank there is a similar shaped “watch” but with a different design. Even though we’ve seen some of Joe Amaro’s design sheets on this, seeing it in hand is beyond impressive.
The main screen in the back has both the grid lines and circles that means they’re busy identifying a target. It even appears to have a CD-rom in there. And yes, the show actually did show off the use of a CD-rom once (or twice?). It wasn’t called that then. Still… You can have your felines in the back be busy doing all kinds of things. This really does make me wish we get some kind of Cats Lair control room in the future, even if it is just a diorama of sorts. This is the real deal! Detail counts and while they could’ve skimped on it, this enhances the interiors tremendously. Don’t get me started on the front panels in the cockpit. (More on that later!)
I mentioned the seats earlier. These may appear rather uncomfortable and narrow on the seat portion of the chairs, but this is very clever in terms of design. We all know getting a figure to sit properly doesn’t work well. (Looking at you Sorceress in Grayskull!) The chairs were designed in such a way that they accommodate the characters perfectly in a seating-type position. And it doesn’t look weird or anything. It works. And yes, you can even get Pumyra with her skirt in the back; seated, of course. My only disappointment here is that the two front seats don’t turn. It looked like they could. Maybe I just don’t remember it correctly. I tried fiddling with mine but they won’t give. It is set in the forward facing position, so don’t go turning it or thinking it is stuck and needs heating. Unless it does then I need someone to tell me.
The raised turret works splendidly. It spins 360, can get raised somewhat to accommodate the figures, and has two pegs for figures to be secured on. Now these pegs are a bit thick, and doesn’t work on the likes of Cheetara. You also have to force the figures down onto it, but it can be done with a little patience. The handles on the gun are also not suitable for finer / smaller hands. If you want Cheetara to be in charge (as in the promotional art), you may have to opt for her more expressive hands. I’m using Mirror Lion-O and his expressive hand actually works quite nicely on here. As a little surprise, those handles can actually turn! Meaning you can have your figure in any position you like behind it and they can still grasp onto the handles even if they are standing at a peculiar angle. Perhaps my favorite part of the the gun atop of the raised platform is the cat claw shaped “fingers” that each of the three guns are protruding from. I noticed this weeks after the first imagery was online, and was surprised that it mirrored cat claws. Nicely done Nate and Joe for including that detail I missed in the show all my life!
This is something I bet that a lot of us wished were possible, and that is fire effects plugging into the guns. I know that this was never advertised as such, but man that would’ve made it even more impressive, a-la-Man-at-Arms-blast-effect, right?! It could’ve worked for all of the guns.
The cockpit surely delivers in that it is the most famous part of the tank besides the claws. We’ve seen Lion-O joyriding in it, we’ve seen Snarf in Panthro’s body trying to steer it, and we’ve seen many other cats behind the wheel. But having Panthro in the driver’s seat is like a full circle moment. Mine still has the nunchucks in one hand, but the other one is on that driver-knob-thingie in the middle. Now be careful here, I’d classify it as somewhat fragile part. And I have heard from other collectors that theirs have broken off while in transit. It’s likely a factory error, so when I opened mine I was very careful with that. Fortunately all of mine are good. The handles beside the seats (two on either side of the driver, one to the right of the passenger) are stuck in place, meaning you can’t move them to and fro. I would’ve like that, especially since it is possible on the turret gun, but that’s fine too. Bigger hands can grip nice and tight onto them.
There are several buttons, knobs, screens and levers here. My favorite is the one in front of the driver. It is such a simple screen, black background with oddly placed white stripes. I never understood what they represented in the toon, but here they are again, and that is super cool. The levers to the gears (I assume) is between the seats. The “steering wheel” is in the front centre panel, and this is something I really would’ve liked to turn, but it is stuck in place. Treat that knob with care when you put Panthro’s expressive hand on there. I don’t think it will just break off, but with this expensive item I am overly cautious.
And that is possibly quite unnecessary. This vehicle feels sturdy and looks the part. Nothing feels flimsy. Nothing feels like it could break at any moment. There isn’t the worry that your tank’s panels will fall out (I know my vintage one had that issue sometimes). I’m comfortable that this tank is worth its price. I often wonder how on earth they created this for that price. Tooling is excessively expensive, and for a once off run it is quite crazy when you think about it. Then again, if you really wanted a battle damage version of the tank, perhaps that is an option down the line. That could be a fun rerelease a few years from now. I’ll get it, of course, but who will ride it that time because there is so much space to put figures in.
Moving along to the front of the ThunderTank and you’ll find three iconic areas. First up is the jaw with its GITD eyes / lights and bared teeth. The tank does indeed look like it could growl. And yes, you can fit a figure in the front. Mumm-Ra in his mummy form is the best one to bite down on. The jaw lifts up nicely and the joints feel strong. No complaints there. Those GITD eyes really do shine bright. Sure, LEDs would’ve been so cool, but I’d rather not have the price go up by another $100 just for some electronics. I am curious if anyone will be modifying theirs for this purpose alone. Like with the Electro-Charger, I think lights could’ve taken this up another notch. Don’t get me wrong, in now ways am I upset about it. Can you imagine if the interiors had blinking lights and screens? That would’ve been something! But this is what the line offers, and I am thrilled with the results. The front mounted laser cannon lifts up from the bonnet but see to it that you keep the jaw down first as it won’t lift up from underneath an already raised jaw. The inside of the laser cannon can turn and I was almost expecting it to be like a projectile inside, but alas it is not. Pew pew pew!
On either side of the gaping jaws of death and destruction are the claws. I never realized it up until now, but like the tank, Cats Lair has its own claws that lift up!?!?! Why didn’t I see the similarity there? Hey, even the Feliner has it (while we’re there, can we ask for that too in the future?) These lift up nice and tight with proper positioning and no weak joints like your vintage ThunderTank would present you today. I had one good claw and one lazy one. Here I have two good ones with a deep red foot that has moveable guns and spinning wheels. (Feliner reference again, but gosh that part really does scream Feliner to me.)
The third part is likely the area some may nitpick. This is where the windshields cover the front of the tank. They really do fit nicely, both the clear and the grey pieces, and that is in part because of the four holes that you peg them into. Sitting here looking at the raised tank jaw I don’t see them. But once you lower it, you will. And if you’ve got Lion-O with the Sword of Omens in hand, then you can’t put these on, and with a lowered jaw, it will stand out. So what could’ve been done about it? Buttons to plug into these holes to cover them up? Perhaps. I really do not mind them, but I understand why folk are unhappy with it. From an engineering point of view it makes absolutely sense to me why they’re there. This is not the same, but the back of the tank’s interior have two screws against the back wall on either side of the chairs. Is it unsightly? Yes, a tad. At first I thought they were silver dials or something. These screws actually also remind me of the 2011 toys. Boy did those have screws in them!
The wheels that carry the back of the tank are big and bulky. The treads are strong and thick, and I believe they’ll last a decade or three. And yes, the tank does move. The wheels move. The tread moves. I would recommend a flat surface though as thick carpets may be more difficult. You know of course the tank was built for riding across Third Earth’s landscape, not the carpets of your home!! Ha! I appreciate that it has been pointed out that they are not high enough. And that they should’ve been higher up on the side of the tank. There’s a smidge more room for that. I am not too bothered by it not being a perfect replication of the tank. It still comes down to this: when you look at it what do you see? If your answer isn’t the ThunderTank, then there’s no hope for you here.
The inner mechanics of the wheels have been corrected and brought out. I’m glad Super7 did this. The bottom of the tank, despite not being an area I would ever look at, was not just left a blank piece. It does look like the bottom of a vehicle. Even the back with its exhaust vents are beautiful. Those hatch doors at the back makes me wish there was a boot for Snarf to climb in and hide while Lion-O was heading out on an adventure. But that wouldn’t have worked here as he’d have ended up in the back of the tank.
When you close the tank up all the way, the ThunderCats symbol on the cargo bay doors atop really drives it home for me. Super7 nailed it. Design choices aside that some will disagree with (and of course, have the right to do so), they delivered and I am so overwhelmed with what is standing beside me. It took my breath away the moment I opened it up. Ok fine, I was a bit out of breath by carrying this big box, and, paired with all the excitement, it did the job literally too. If Wave 6 has driven the nostalgia factor hard, then the tank has driven the fact home that we have been spoilt rotten this time round. This is a piece of art. It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned. And it will forever be the crown jewel of my collection. Until Cats Lair comes around…
