So this weekend at TFNation Maketoys held a panel where among other things they showed off images of their upcoming Thunder Convoy, their homage to Powermaster Prime.

This is not an add on kit to Striker Manus.

This is very likely the silhouette seen on some of the recent Maketoys promotional materials.

He stands an inch, maybe two, taller than Striker, is made up of a smaller Optimum lookalike who in the picture had a Powermaster of sorts plugged into his back. This then combines with what will probably be his trailer to for their Thunder Convoy.

It shares a lot of the design elements of Striker Manus and really show that Maketoys are in for the long haul with Cross Dimensions as they are planning this seekers, Bee and if the toy itself is any indication some forms of upgrade kit for Striker Manus which at this point would most likely be a Magnus type effort.

Photography was banned during the panel so hopefully some images will start to appear in the coming weeks.

 

Thanks for this. I can't buy Prime left and right just because it's MT, if both this and Manus are part of Cross Dimensions, then which is the real Prime?

 

Kinda disappointed we have to buy a whole new figure

With striker they created their own design and could have built in compatibility with armor for it
Also two of their first three designs will be Optimus homages ...?

 

They're creating a pretty thorough background through which to push these characters of theirs so 'in universe' it will have an explanation but I think when you see the toy it'll blow enough people away to be a success.


There must be an armour kit planned for Striker eventually. There are ports and joints that clearly indicate this, not least the joint that pulls his arms out of the torso by half an inch or so to clearly accommodate a large chest piece.

 

Paint it like Thunderclash and I will get it. I have enough Optimus toys.

I take it this last figure is Thunder Convoy (who I bet will be renamed Thunder Manus, just like Striker Convoy was renamed Striker Manus).



Does this mean the other Despotron is a THIRD Despotron toy?



Anyways, with the fiction they set up for Cross Dimensions, it looks like it involves the Transformers traveling dimensions and changing form from story to story, and they already have cameos of the Remaster line characters in the comic with Striker Manus.

 

So which one looked better on its own, striker or thunder? I wasn't exactly going to get striker with a must for armor later on, but if that adds more play value. I want the best looking of the two though. But striker is 80$, and that is very good, and already 8inch, so not sure I should wait.

 

It's difficult to say as it was a brief image but I would say Thunder looked more impressive due to his added mass and presence . I've been playing with Striker all weekend and his real strong suit is his articulation. He just moves so well and looks so dynamic in even simple poses. We don't know if Thunder will match that as even Rioter, while still being really dynamic and we'll articulated is still not at the same insane level Striker is at.


I'm all in for all the moulds but I can understand people not wanting several Optimii from one company.

 

What an interesting development. I wish I could've gone to the convention, it sounds excellent. As for Thunder here, colour me intrigued. A Maketoys Powermaster Prime has the potential to be stunning, and it really shows how passionate they are about this line and how they're pushing for it to be a success. I hope this opens the door for other companies by showing how there is a demand for more original takes on characters.  

 

Seems rather silly that this would be an entirely different figure... especially when the current Manus seems to have tabs and whatnot to indicate that it likely has armor kits forthcoming.

 

Correct me if I'm being thick but what does that page have to do with Jetfire?  

 

from what he said it sounds like there will be armor AND a different figure that also has armor

nuts

i would not be upset at an armored up supermegatron

 

That's Lazerbeak. Scaleface just reaching again.

 

Glad I'm not the only one to think that then.

 

No, you're not, it's clearly Laserbeak.

 

You could say it is Laserbeak because it IS Laserbeak. You could just say, "Oops, I looked at it wrong" instead of trying to say everyone else isn't right.

 

Yeah, I could...

 

I was afraid of this.

Something about what daim was saying made me think we weren't on target predicting a trailer powerup. This seems to confirm that--assuming this rumor is true, but I have no reason to doubt it.

As to "the holes and tabs clearly indicating room for add-ons" on Stiker Manus... I find it more likely Maketoys is recycling parts from the Striker Manus mold for "Thunder Convoy" or whatever it ends up getting called. Utopia recycled its own parts for left vs right limbs, so it's something we've seen from Maketoys before. Which isn't a detraction! Clever engineering and business choices keep these guys afloat.

I hope that this means whatever parts come in the Thunder Convoy package are compatible with Striker Manus.

Also, please note: I'm conjecturing. I haven't got proof of any of these hypothesis.

 

I think it would be cool if they run a powermaster version AND an Apex Armor version. Rather than upgrade the upgrade, I like them separate.

Or do a Star Convoy or something. Either way I am not unhappy. Of course I am a grown man in "Let's Roll" pajama pants that my kid bought me so I might be a little biased.

 

It could be that the add-on trailer will work on BOTH Optimus and Powermaster Optimus. Like how the Masterarmor works with G1 Optimus, Powermaster Optimus and Classic Voyager Optimus.

 

From what we were shown the Prime that comes with Thunder Convoy was a fair bit smaller than Striker and quite different stylistically (just the small bot, Thunder really fits with Striker) so I'm not sure if parts sharing is a thing.

It wasn't clear but I couldn't tell if Thunder transforms true to G1 with a rolled up cab sitting in a cavity or if the smaller bot 'wears' his trailer as armour.

They looked pretty distinct to me and the company rep or....I'm not really sure what his position was but it sounds like Maketoys are really putting a lot onto Cross Dimension, like this is going to be their core line by the sounds of thing, their main event, their bread and butter.

EDIT: it's 3am here (watching Summerslam) but I'll upload a picture of these extended arms of Striker that point towards an upgrade kit for *something* be it Striker or a white and blue version of him.