"Age of the Primes" Sideways with Crosswise & Rook Toy Review

06/14/26

General Information
Release Date: May 2026
Price Point: $42.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)

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Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:

• 5.75-INCH VOYAGER CLASS SIDEWAYS: This Transformers figure is 5.75 inches (14.5 cm) in robot mode and features deco and details inspired by the Transformers universe
• CONVERT FROM ROBOT TO MOTORCYCLE: This Transformers toy figure converts in 23 steps
• 2 MINI-CON FIGURES THAT COMBINE INTO RIDER: Mini-Con Crosswise and Rook figures combine to make Mini-Con Combiner Mirror, who can ride in motorcycle mode
• CHANGE FROM AUTOBOT TO DECEPTICON: Flip chest panel to reveal an Autobot or Decepticon logo
• ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Age of the Primes Transformers figures feature articulation for display-worthy poses or action-packed play
• PART OF THE TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES COLLECTION: Sideways, descended from Liege Maximo, is a master of deceit
• COLLECTIBLE TRANSFORMERS GIFTS: Transformers action figures make a great Christmas, holiday, or birthday gift for boys and girls 8 and up or anyone who collects Transformers toys

Experience the epic universe of Transformers robots with the Transformers Sideways toy! The 5.75-inch (14.5 cm) Voyager Class figure converts from robot action figure to motorcycle mode in 23 steps, and comes with 2 Mini-Con figures that combine to create Mini-Con Combiner Mirror, who can ride in motorcycle mode. With intricate poseability and attachable tailpipe weapon accessories, this Transformers action figure makes an awesome addition to any collection. Look for more Age of the Primes Transformers collectible toys (sold separately, subject to availability) featuring characters like The Thirteen Nexus Prime, The Thirteen Liege Maximo, Maximal Big Convoy, and more to create a lineup that is — More Than Meets the Eye. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.

Background:
Sideways was introduced in the 2002 Armada series where he was a mysterious character who seemed to switch sides as he manipulated those around him. In fact, he was an agent of the planet eating Unicron! The original action figure from Armada was a unique toy in that he included two Mini-Cons. These Mini-Cons could combine with each other or form a head for Sideways, offering a unique take on the "Headmaster" concept. The character would carry over to the Cybertron series outside Japan and fans even had a chance to get an updated version of Cybertron Sideways back in 2024. Now in 2026 we go back to the original Armada Sideways as part of the Age of the Primes toy line.

Packaging:
Age of the Primes represents a dramatic shift in Generations packaging. Unlike previous years of the War for Cybertron trilogy or Legacy which went in dramatic directions with packaging shape and artwork, the designers have dialed back the look of the boxes a lot. The Age of the Primes packaging winds up looking a lot more like Studio Series packaging. The boxes are now rectangular. No weird angles or anything. The background is just plain black. The "Transformers" logo is no longer vertical (dropping a trend that began over ten years ago) and is now horizontal in the front of the packaging with the "Age of the Primes" name underneath it. Character art is featured to the right, but it's only partial art showing a bit of the character in robot mode with focus on the vehicle mode underneath. To the left are icons describing how many steps the character takes to convert from one mode to the other (23 in this case) and the age recommendation (8+ for this figure).

Sideways is inside the box attached to a cardboard tray. You can see the entire figure in robot mode thanks to the return of plastic windows! Fans will recall that for many years Transformers toys have had no plastic windows in an effort to (ostensibly) make more eco-friendly packaging. However, this led to damaged toys with heads being yanked off and sometimes figures being outright stolen. For many fans, the return of the plastic windows is a welcome one.

The back of the box shows the character in both modes calling out the 23 step transformation. Behind the character is a sky background with a wheel showing some of the Thirteen Prime symbols. Off to the side in a window we see the Mini-Cons Crosswise and Rook combined into the Mini-Con named Mirror.

Accessories:
Sideways is a Deluxe Class sized figure that comes with two Mini-Cons, weapons and bits that can come off, but not all of them are meant to be weapons or really separate parts. For instance, the wheel sections from the vehicle mode can pop off, but they don't really serve any purpose if disconnected (I'll go into that more below). For the purposes of this section I will focus on his actual weapons and the two Mini-Cons included with this set.

Tailpipe Weapons
The original Sideways included two missiles that doubled as Sideways' tailpipes in vehicle mode. These pieces would stay attached to his forearms unless you launched them using the Mini-Con gimmick. This new version of the character has similar weapons, but this time out they are not intended to be projectiles launched from the arms. Instead, these club shaped tailpipe/weapon pieces peg into the firearms using a 5mm peg. You can then detach them and place them in Sideways' hands to use as melee weapons. Unlike the original Sideways missiles, these are made out of grey plastic with no paint applications. The original Sideways figure missiles were clear plastic with bright orange painted on the end. While the grey is a bit dull compared to the missiles from the original Sideways, it is important to keep in mind this figure is based on the animated appearance of the character, so it makes sense for the missiles to be grey since that is the color they were on the show.

Crosswise
Crosswise is one of Sideways' two Mini-Con partners. Like the original version of this character, he has a face with a mouth plate and a torso covered by the face of the head he forms for Sideways. The hips, knees and feet all feature articulation but his arms are a separate piece that slides onto the back of the figure and they cannot move, which is a bummer. Crosswise is made of grey plastic with red and yellow paint details. The red is on the lower legs (replacing the purple that was there on the original toy). The yellow is used for the eyes on the face plate.

Crosswise can form the lower body of Mini-Con Mirror (while Rook forms the upper body). To do so you have to detach the arms, turn the lower legs around. Crosswise then attaches to the underside of Rook. His arms feature a 3mm peg in the middle so you can attach the arms to Sideways for storage.

Crosswise also forms one of Sideways' heads. Specifically he becomes the head that "activates" the Decepticon symbol in the show (and on the original action figure from 2002). For this version, keep the arms detached, move the legs out to the sides at angles and point the feet down. His head attaches to the port revealed when you move Sideways' robot head forward and out of the way. The faction symbol on Sideways' chest is changed manually.

In an undocumented feature (at least, I didn't see it in the instructions), the face plate on Crosswise has a 3mm port on the back. Flip it up to reveal this port. You can then attach the arms to it and use his head as a peg to attach to Sideways, effectively giving him a weapon mode!

Rook
Rook is the other Mini-Con included with this set. The versions of Crosswise and Rook included with this set are not quite as complicated as their predecessors. The original Mini-Cons featured three distinct head sculpts. One for Crosswise, another for Rook and a third for Mirror. In this case, there is no mechanism to "switch" heads, so the designers gave Rook one head and modeled it after Mirror's. Like the original Mirror the "helmet" section is round with a crest in the middle. This helmet section wraps around his face featuring large eyes and a mouth. The rest of the figure is modeled after Armada Rook including round arm sections and legs that feature layers of horizontal line detail.

There are four points of articulation on Rook: the shoulders and the elbows. Unfortunately his legs do not move. Since his legs can detach, you can count "waist" articulation even though it's really just where the top and lower halves of the body separate.

Rook is made up of black plastic with silver and yellow on the head. To transform him into Sideways' "Autobot" head, detach the legs, swing the head back and set the arms out at angles before attaching the peg to Sideways.

Update (June 15, 2026): Thanks to Pharmadan on Bluesky, I stand corrected.  There is actually a head sculpted for Rook that is different than Mirror's head.  I will be updating my photos for Rook in the near future.  Thanks for reading and keeping me honest, Pharmadan!

Mirror
Detach the legs from Rook and the arms from Crosswise. Swing the face plate on Crosswise up. Connect the two figures by connecting Crosswise's head to the port on the bottom of Rook's torso. Then turn Crosswise's legs around.

Like his Armada counterpart, Mirror is the Mini-Con that "drives" Sideways in vehicle mode. His hands are shaped to fit on Sideways' handlebars and his lower body articulation lets him sit on Sideways properly in vehicle mode. Altogether he has eleven points of articulation.

Sideways Review

Robot Mode:
Sideways is about 5.75 inches (14.5 cm) in robot mode. The Voyager Class price is justified in part by the inclusion of the two Mini-Cons and the "Headmaster" gimmick. The result is a bit of a mixed bag.

From a design standpoint, this figure does a good job of calling back to the original figure and animation model. Some of the key details include:

• The head is based on the design seen on the original toy and cartoon. It includes distinct, horizontal indentations on the forehead and a distinctive nose/mouth area that looks like both a mouth plate and regular "mouth" at the same time. He also has handlebars on the sides of the head.
• The chest is formed from the front of the motorcycle, but it does not have the symbol changing gimmick activated by Mini-Cons like the Armada version. Instead, the symbols are on a plastic panel that can be flipped manually.
• Each arm features ports to hold his weapons but there is no longer a Mini-Con activated mechanism to launch them. Instead, the detach manually.
• The lower legs each have details on the knees and vertical lines under it that are similar to the "T" shaped detail on the original figure and animation model.

Overall, this figure looks great but it does have one flaw: the feet. Like the Armada figure, the feet are made out of the two halves of the motorcycle seat. However, on the original toy the halves were set vertically, so they looked fine as feet. Here they split and are set horizontally so they wind up looking rather funny and frankly a bit awkward.

Sideways is mostly made up of purple, black and grey plastic with translucent dark grey plastic on the windshield. The colors are different shades than those used on the original Armada figure, but I believe the intent was to match the animation model more than the original figure. Paint colors include silver, gold and metallic blue. I appreciate the choice of metallic colors as they look really nice against the grey and purple plastic.

There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure. That includes five on each arm and leg. As mentioned above, the faction symbol on his chest can be flipped so you can pick an Autobot symbol or a Decepticon symbol. Unlike the original Sideways, there is no option to have no symbol displayed. There are four 5mm ports in this mode, one on each arm and leg. While you cannot attach Armada Mini-Cons, you can attach weapons or Micromasters from Siege.

Of course, the main gimmick here is the "Headmaster" feature. Swing the arms out, swing the chest panel forward and swing the robot head forward. Then swing the chest back and the arms. Now you have a port to attach either of the heads! Crosswise's arms and Rook's legs can be attached to Sideways' legs for storage.

Transformation to Vehicle Mode:

1. Detach the Mini-Cons if attached along with their limb parts.
2. Detach the wheel sections from the back (this makes things easier).
3. Straighten out the arms and legs.
4. Swing the side panels on the forearms out, then swing the fists in and swing the panels back.
5. Swing the arms out to the sides.
6. Swing the chest panel forward.
7. Swing the head down, then swing the chest panel back into place.
8. Rotate the chest/head section around.
9. Swing the front panel of the lower legs out.
10. On the left foot, swing out the small black peg on the foot.
11. Swing the lower legs over the thighs.
12. Connect the two seat halves together.
13. Rotate the panel on the back and reattach the wheel pieces. The one with the purple cover goes in front.
14. Connect the tab under the front of the motorcycle to the slot on the wheel cover in front.
15. Rotate the forearms around.
16. Swing the arms under the vehicle.
17. Connect the forearms together.

This transformation is very similar to the one for the original Sideways figure. However, the transformation is not as solid. Specifically having to take the wheels off is not ideal. Also, on my copy of this figure, if I try to move the arms down and under the vehicle, they pop off because the joint connecting them to the shoulder does not have a pin and entirely depends on pressure to stay in place. Instead, I have to push the panel the arms are attached to inward and even then the arm may pop off.

Vehicle Mode:
Sideways' vehicle mode is a motorcycle. The design is very much an updated version of the Armada toy. It has the oval shaped front section while the rear of the vehicle is bulkier and rectangular. The weapons from the robot mode form tailpipes on either side.

All the colors from the robot mode carry over to this form including the gold painted details and metallic blue on the headlights.

Mirror can sit on Sideways' seat and hold on to his handlebars. It looks really great and I am very happy this functionality was kept intact. Each side of the vehicle has two 5mm ports and one 3mm port for storage of the Mini-Con parts.

Final Thoughts:
I am happy to see Armada continues to get love in the Generations line. It is still very G1 heavy but it is great to recognize other eras of Transformers and for many fans Armada was their "G1" so this is great for them too. This figure is essentially the original with more articulation minus the Mini-Con activated features. I do wish the Mini-Cons were more articulated and what is up with the feet? That could have been done much better as well, but overall this is a good figure but only a couple steps away from being excellent.

Pros:

• Good sculpt (except for the feet).
• I am glad the Mini-Cons have been included along with the "Headmaster" feature.
• Good articulation.
• Good deco.

Cons:

• The Mini-Cons having less articulation than their Armada predecessors is less than ideal.
• The feet are kind of ugly.
• I would have liked actual Armada era Mini-Con ports.