Sideways Three Bots, No Waiting Transformers Age of the Primes Voyager Class Item No.: Asst. G0473 No. G1999 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Tailpipes, Crosswise, Rook, Arm Piece, leg Pieces, Wheels Action Feature: Converts from robot(s) to motorcycle with driver Retail: $42.99 Availability: March 2026 Other: Not much bigger than the original
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Debuting originally in 2002, this 2026 Sideways is a remaster like most fans would ask to get. On its own merits, it's a good translation of the cartoon character at the expense of the charms provided by the original toy. Most fans want the original toy with more articulation, fewer gimmicks, and a greater fealty to the Japanese release and/or cartoon. The 2002 $9.99 pegwarmer is a 2026 $42.99 toy, and there are some elements I like a lot and a few I don't. It can be a struggle to make a good toy in this economy, as Hasbro seems to be chasing higher price points while international trade conspires against this. Voyager-class toys were about $30 in 2020, and we've seen some considerable hikes. Considering this toy is roughly the same size as a 2002 Deluxe, you might be asking "Is it worth it?" and my response would be "Maybe?"

Given the realities of the secondary market, you can't get a $10 Sideways in 2026. A complete Armada one is probably going to be about $60, or north of $80 boxed - that makes the new Hasbro item your best option. While I would argue Hasbro might sell more toys to more people by trying to make something simpler like the original, adult collectors tend to shout this down. If you're looking for the best version of this character money can buy, this is something I would consider a lateral move. Nobody did a bad job, but the original character conceit was his mysterious faction. Both versions of Sideways have three faces - an Autobot, a Decepticon, and a neutral version that hides the fact he actually works for Unicron. The 2002 toy had a gimmick that could switch his faction allegiance from a blank slate to purple to red. This one prints the faction on a two-sided windshield, so it's Autobot or Decepticon - no "other."

The faction gimmick was originally activated by Mini-Cons. You got two - and each one changed his affiliation. On this toy it's manual, and each robot is a "partsformer" that must be partially dismantled to get the job done. The good news is you get more paint and ankle tilts, but the bad news is you have no rocket launchers and more parts to potentially lose - and they're arms and legs.

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If Hasbro added a couple of joints to the original toy but otherwise left it be, I think we'd be in great shape. $43 for a once $10 toy is a lot to swallow, but it does have more moving parts and paint.

It's not a bad figure - it doesn't do everything the original does, and you have to dismember the Mini-Cons to enjoy the head and faction changing gimmicks, but those features are available. The wheels pop off easily (and frequently do during transformation.) As a 5 1/2-inch robot figure, he's pretty good. The wrist rockets are simulated - but not functional. That's bad. But you get wrists that can rotate and hold accessories if you want! The ankle tilts are nice if you're in to that sort of thing, and the vastly improved articulation - like elbows - can be hard to deny. It's an improvement for figures who pose and display their toys, less so for those of you who still play around with stuff on the couch while Netflix is streaming and you're waiting for your spouse to come back from the bathroom. The 2002 toy wasn't a brick, but didn't have a lot of range of movement. 2026 is massively improved with features like "the neck can turn" and "working elbows," which are great if you'll use them and not keep them in a respect pose on the back of a shelf. Is it worth four times the original price of the old toy? It depends on your priorities. I would have enjoyed more mechanisms.

Crosswise and Rook are here. His Mini-Con buddies can be separate robots, but Crosswise's arms don't move (and must be removed for transformation) and Rook's legs are a single, non-moving removable piece. I preferred how the original Mirror (their combined mode's name) functioned, but this one has better head sculpts on the little guys. If all they're going to do is stand there or be a face, these are perfectly fine.

The toy meets the demands of the vocal adult toy collector market - that is to say, articulation above all - handily. The big robot is pretty great as a collector figure for its "Autobot" and "Decepticon" modes, but it falls a little short for "tin can mode" neutral because of how the chest works. Is it bad? No. It's just different, and I personally don't have a better idea of how to handle it given how the toy transforms, or the amount of detail on it. It makes sense for the modern market.

Conversion isn't impossible, but I'd save those instructions. There are a lot of moving parts, and I had problems getting the motorcycle seat just right. It's good reference to have handy or to have Aaron Archer draw on it if you ever find him at a party.

Functionally, the bike mode isn't very different. The US Hasbro toy from 2002 had yellow paint, and this one has gold. Various greeblies are altered a bit, and there are no more Mini-Con hardpoints of any kind. Your combined Mini-Con Mirror can indeed pilot the bike while the spare arms and legs are removed and installed on the sides of the bike - or lost. The purple bike has a non-moving kickstand that keeps the bike upright, and the instrument panel has quite a few sculpted screens, dials, and knobs. The bike itself looks like a contorted robot but that's OK - the original did, too. It's a bulky, but perfectly fine, bike that more closely mimics the cartoon version.

The short conclusion: get it if you need a Sideways, because it's the best option for the price today and it is loaded with options, joints, and parts. Crosswise and Rook's limbs can be little weapons for Mirror - that's great thinking! You can store them on Sideways - also good! But nothing magically springs to life, there's no reveal mechanism, and it means we lost a little specialness in our transition to these toys becoming collectibles for adults.

I am probably one of the few fans that would prefer to see Hasbro go back to making the best toy $10 (or $20 or whatever it is adjusted for inflation) can be. It took me a minute to warm up to Armada in 2002 but once I got it, I appreciated it. $10 for 2 (or 3) robots and a sticker, and all I have to give up is a little articulation? Sounds good. $43 gives you a toy with no limits, but the lack of the rotating Mini-Con mechanism in the chest siphons off some charm and personality. It's a great robot figure. It's wonderful to have real 5mm fists and not small hands that can't grip. But I assume my future will not involve me playing with this toy as much as the old one. (Granted, age may have something to do with that.) It is a well-executed upgrade of an old toy, but I'm not blown away like I was with Armada fans because after two decades, that series isn't getting a ton of retrospective love.

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