Phil's
Battlestars & Micromaster Collection Alan,
Operation Combination & Micromaster Collection Atlan
and
Universe Tankor
Review
Alan was sold in Japan in 1991 as part of the C-370 Sixliner giftset. He's an orange & grey TGV - Train à Grande Vitesse, French for 'high-speed train'. He's one of the three Micromaster trains in this set to come with a loop connector that can fold down from his rear - the other three trains have a peg which allows the six trains to be connected into three pairs of trains. This can be also used to tow Sixliner's right foot on which can be mounted either the Gripper probe *or* the Wingard vehicle - see the Sixliner review for details. There's a small peg hole on the roof on which can be mounted the Giga-Techvolt weapon - the waist & upper legs of Sixliner - but this doesn't sit too well with Alan and is much better used with Diego the steam engine.
TF: Fold the connector in, fold the back of the train down 180 degrees to form the legs - you may need to tilt the back down slightly to do this - then raise the arms at the shoulders.
Robot mode gives Alan a hoodie formed from the nose of the train. Articulation is typical for a Micromaster - turning shoulders & hips with joined bending knees, Like all Micromasters he has a peg hole in his base allowing him to use the stands on the playsets and vehicles. The hoodie can be lowered over his head giving him an oversized train helmet.
Alan normally forms Sixliner's right arm - Transform him into robot mode then lower the front of the train down over his face and head. On the other end of the train front is a 5mm peg hole allowing him to be connected to Sixliner's (or any other Micromaster Six Combiner's) shoulder joint. Into the bottom of the robot's feet slide in Sixliner's fist - Alan will hold either fist which means he can be used as either arm. However he has to use the fists for Sixliner (or it's Sixtrain repaint) as the fists vary in the moulding of the connector from one six team to the next.
Atlan is a a repaint of Alan issued the following year, 1992, as part of the Operation Combination Line. Atlan came in the Sixtrain set numbered TF-05. Atlan is a simple paint swap with orange becoming grey while grey & black become blue and red remains red.
Reissue Alan is almost identical to the original - the decals are now painted on and he gains an extra red Autobot symbol on his roof. Alan is numbered 2 in the Sixliner Micromaster collection and comes with the "Mega Techvolt" weapon (Sixliner's legs) - surely the right hand and gun would be more appropriate ?
Reissue Alan was sold in Japan in 2002, was imported into the UK and sold through a number of locations including the Virgin Megastores.
None of the Sixliner team have alternate chase colour schemes in the Micromaster collection - these were introduced for the Sixturbo team.
Micromaster collection Atlan is a reissue of Atlan with the stickers printed onto the toy. He was numbered 2 in the Sixtrain series and came with Sixtrain's legs.
Like the other three 1992 Six teams, the Sixtrain team gets an alternate chase colour scheme for their Micromaster collection release. One or two toys per box of 12 came in this alternate colour scheme in this case colouring the toys all red. Red Mode Atlan comes with the same Sixtrain pieces as Atlan, but coloured red.
Tankor is a western release of Micromaster Collection Atlan, this time packaged with Sixtrain's head & gun. Initially a US KB Toys Universe exlcusive he was later sold in Europe & the UK under the Energon banner.
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