ThunderTank (Toy Version) ULTIMATES! Review

Egmond’s review, first published on We Want More ThunderCats and reproduced here with his blessing.

Hop on in, Super7 is taking us back to the toy aisles of the 80s! That’s right folks, the once majestic toy from back in the day, that had the envy of every other boy or girl in your class who didn’t own one, is back. Bigger than ever, I might add. Just a few short years after they gave us the toon counterpart of this beast of a vehicle, we go back in time to be spoilt by a toy color we never saw coming. I sure didn’t! I mean, it’s a vehicle, who would do that? Well, Super7 would!

• 27 inches long, 17 wide
• $350, down from $500
• First pin-less Panthro sculpt
• Amazon exclusive
• Seats six ULTIMATES figures

It started out as a wonderful tease in an interview I had with Brian Flynn, just before SDCC 2025. I was honored to find out before anybody else knew what it was. I had to cut that bit from the interview, and then share it later when it was made public. I haven’t had so many requests begging for the nitty gritty in a while. That was fun. It was announced as an Amazon exclusive. They loved the tank idea. They wanted one of their own. And there it was, a great reuse of an existing sculpt I might add. But to make it even more fun, they added in the first of its kind pin-less Panthro. Now that had the tongues wagging. Not because it was included, which is a no-brainer, but because this, as it currently stands, is the only way to get your hands on a toy recolor of this character.

The box, and what Super7 did to the art

So what’s in the box? I’ll start with what’s outside. The art is the exact same art as the toon release with one major difference: all of the characters, including the tank, and the background I might add, are now toy recolored. That’s very clever, using the same art and just giving them their toy color counterparts’ looks. Other than the odd solicitation we’ve seen, and some I swear I did not see before, that’s it. Same size box. With the same ThunderCats logo embedded polystyrene interiors. But not quite. Because this time there’s Panthro hiding in the outer box.

Once you’ve opened the tape that keeps the two sides of the inners together, the tank is beautifully housed in a plastic sleeve. Now remember, mine travelled across the globe. Not just from China, or wherever it was made, but it went from the US back across the ocean all the way to South Africa. I believe it might have gone via the UK and Dubai. It arrived perfectly. In a MASSIVE BOX.

A pit stop at BBTS

So this is where I take a quick exit from Route 85 and make a pit stop at BBTS. I purchased mine from BBTS. And not when it went up. I only ordered mine in May this year. And not at the original retail price. This is a pricy item, and for the original $500 it meant I had to save a couple of months longer. But then out of the blue this went on sale, and I just jumped on board to avoid missing out. That BBTS listing has since sold out, though Super7 are running the same reduced price direct as I write this. And then I had to wait. As long as BBTS would let me. Because between buying this and receiving this, I moved across country and needed to get settled first before I could ship it. BBTS offered their pile of loot option, and mine sat there in their warehouse for 3 months. That was a great relief, knowing it was safe and paid for. I only paid $6 to ship it to my US-based forwarding address. What a bargain! Shipping it here though? Well, that’s another story. I’ll just say the shipping cost more than the tank did. And then some. That’s the price for wanting ThunderCats from Super7. So be it.

BBTS shipped this Panthro-constructed vehicle in a massive box. And it was packaged really well. You can rest assured that yours will arrive in one piece. And might I add again, FOR ONLY $6????!!!! Thank you to BBTS who took such great care of my toy. Because when I opened it, I was in awe.

Panthro is the reason to buy this

The biggest draw card for me was the Panthro figure. Hidden cleverly inside the exterior of the polystyrene was this blister with two layers. And there he was. His colors just screamed vintage. His buck was such a throwback to the original toy. I never owned him as a kid. But I had a friend named Andre Venter who did. And I’d go over to visit him to play ThunderCats and MOTU. This Panthro took me right back to his bedroom playing toys.

The thing I did not like though? That growling head. And yeah, I’m not usually a fan of those more expressive looks. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with it. It is just not MY Panthro, that’s all. Enter the toy correct head. Before you worry, I had to heat it up when I realized that the head was a bit tight. Not breaking another toy like that!!! The moment I replaced it with his toy accurate head, I was dumbstruck. Such a lovely figure. Such a bloody lovely figure! Now sure, he has all these extra hands, but I’ll never use them, because my Panthro will be gripping onto his nunchuks. Even if he is behind the wheel. And aren’t they fantastic? From the vintage look black chain to the correct hues of red and blue on each piece. This is so vintage. It makes for the perfect Panthro.

I am really pleased that I got the tank, if it is only to get my hands on this guy in ULTIMATES! form. But boy, this figure is flawless. And one thing I noticed when exchanging heads is that the piece you plug the head onto is not part of the sculpt. It is a separate piece. I’m calling it now: we’re getting an LED Panthro one day. Compare the new LEDs with that one, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The articulation is very good here. The difference, besides the buck being completely different and more toy accurate, is mostly visible in the trunks and the armor, which is now one piece instead of two. That is probably a clever way of them being able to do with that what they want. I bet we can get a uniform that has the sharp points extended like in the show. Anything is possible.

This figure gets a solid 10/10 from me. It's perfect.

A vintage repaint that should not work

The first thing that stood out for me when it came to the tank itself was the logo on top of the back. Man, that red logo is just something that no amount of cartoon can ever take away. It is so 80s. A beautiful thing to look at. Even with the tank scaled much better and with additional modernizations, it still looks 80s to me.

So this is where it gets cool, because everything about this tank is about the way it looks. It has the same interiors, the same rising claws, opening mouth, flapping lips, rising gun, moving guns, pulling-out-turret gun, and so on. It’s all there. But the color on this thing is what makes it. Everything has been thought of, not just the coloring we’re used to on the outside. The interiors, while still the same, have been colorized to match the exteriors in a vintage look. They used the blues and the reds in so many different ways, alongside yellow, to give life to what could not have worked out. But heck, this is just cleverly put together. You still get the modern “articulation” and play factor as with the ULTIMATES! toys that have been treated to their toy version counterparts, so that is a double win for me. We finally have a modern toy-inspired tank.

Somebody commented that they might just sell their toon tank and get this one. I can't blame them. This was the smartest thing Super7 has ever done.

Look, I adore the toon tank, but nothing can ever get to this one. It just shouts down my memory banks. And I am hoping we get a toy variant Cats Lair too. But that might be pricey. Still, that would be great, right? Anybody?

Seats, flaps and treads

If you’re wondering, yes, you can of course still seat your figures in here. The seats, this time round, are red. While the original tank had the one seat that linked to the gun and popped out of the tank, this one has all the extra seating for your toy recolors. Even DX Snarf has found his seat in the back with Cheetara.

The flaps that house the back are strong enough to let figures actually stand on them, without the worry that the plastic might give in or crack. The plastic on this vehicle is really sturdy and very good quality. It doesn’t feel cheap at all. They might just outlive me!

The tank has moving treads as well, like the original, and like its toon counterpart. They too seem to be the same durable plastic. They do however look a bit darker when compared to the original toon tank. Might be my imagination, but it surely looks like that. And the blue borders on the side of the wheel and inside the mechanics of the wheel compartment screams vintage to me.

What I would change

The back of the tank and the front are very strong indicators that Super7 studied a vintage tank until they were blue, or red, in the face. It works so well. You need this in your life. Trust me.

Playing around with this thing has been so much fun. If I have to nitpick, I would say the only wish I had was that they had replaced the grey canopy with a glass one, but then again, the vintage toy did not have a glass one at all. So it looks correct when you view it without the canopy on. The tank also does not have the GITD cats eyes as featured on the toon version. But that’s ok really. It looks the same as the vintage toy did, and that’s all I really wanted out of this.

What I want next

In conclusion, I have to admit that this vehicle really surprised me. I didn’t expect it to surprise me this much though. While I prepared its own shelf for it in anticipation of its arrival, having it now with all of my toy recolors really hits home. I want more toy recolors. I want the vintage core team completed. Give me the twins. Give me Tygra. Give me Pumyra and Bengali and Lynx-O. And yes, I know those had subtle differences (well, not Bengali!) but if I can have those, and the mutants, I’d be very grateful. Release them as DX figures too if you must. It fits the look of the toy recolor style too. Whatever you do, we want more TOY RECOLOR ThunderCats. Shall I list them below for clarity’s sake?

• Tygra
• WilyKat
• WilyKit
• Bengali
• Pumyra
• Lynx-O
• Mummy Mumm-Ra
• Slithe
• Jackalman
• Ratar-O
• Ma-Mutt

That’s not a lot to be honest. And since these are the main lot and the only ones with major differences (I’m looking at you, Ratar-O), I would be over the moon. Throw in a STINGER, which only has that toy look anyway, and I will be happy. Give me this list and I will consider my shelf a success.

Now go and get your own tank.

Review and unboxing photography by Egmond, first published on We Want More ThunderCats. The captioned studio shots are Super7's own promotional images. Lightly copyedited for ThunderCats.org; availability and pricing checked against the retailer on 2 September 2026.