MakeToys Striker Manus

Prelude: When you’re a successful third party company, sooner or later you’re gonna do an Optimus Prime figure (if you didn’t straight off start with one). MakeToys took a few years, but finally brought out Striker Manus, their version of the Autobot leader. Now I’m not sure why they went with the name “Striker Hand” (as Manus is just Latin for hand), but what’s in a name? Far more importantly, is it a good Optimus Prime figure? Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Now it’s really hard to mess up an Optimus Prime figure, as the basic design is so iconic. MakeToys certainly did not mess up. Striker Manus is about the size of a modern-day Leader- or large Voyager-Class figure and is clearly recognizable as Optimus Prime. Red and blue, truck windows as chest, smokestacks on the shoulders, blue helmet, everything is there. The aesthetic seems to be a mix between classic G1 look with a bit of Live-Action-Movie styling and it works pretty well. The overall design seems to borrow quite heavily from Classics Optimus Prime, including the panels on the forearms, the truck grill on the back, and the rifle being a separate part that becomes the roof of the truck.

Articulation-wise the figure is pretty great, featuring just about every joint imaginable, including ankle tilt (which was definitely not standard in 2016) and articulated hands. The movement of the upper legs is a bit limited due to the detailing on the thighs and the hip plate, but that’s really just a minor thing. Not quite a minor thing: Striker Manus does have some balancing issues, as his feet don’t have proper heel spurs. Instead the wheels of his truck mode serve as heels and only if you properly fold them down. So getting him to stand in whatever pose you’ve put him into might occasionally take a bit of time. Not a major thing, but given that it could easily have been solved with a simple flip-out heel or something, not a minor thing, either.

Back in 2016 it wasn’t yet common for most Optimus Prime figures to have a removable Matrix in their chests, but Striker Manus at least hints at one by having vaguely Matrix-shaped detailing behind his chest windows. Overall the detailing on this figure is pretty fabulous without being overdone.

Finally, the weapons. As mentioned above Striker Manus has a rifle, which folds out of the truck roof and can be held in either hand. No way to store it on the back, sadly, but apart from that it’s pretty cool. Striker Manus also comes with two Energon axes, which masquerade as the smokestacks on his shoulders. Well, they’re more like hatchets than axes, I’d say, and not very big, but looking pretty cool. Manus can either wield one in each hand or combine them into… something. Something that looks weird and doesn’t really hold together well. Best to keep them separate.

Bottom line for the robot mode: brilliant! The only thing it lacks are proper heel spurs, otherwise it’s pretty perfect.

Alternate Mode: Striker Manus naturally transforms into a red and blue cab-over-engine truck tractor, what did you expect? The transformation is basically the same as Classics Optimus Prime, though a bit more intricate here and there. It’s not a difficult transformation as such, but getting everything lined up correctly in order to tab it all together sometimes takes a bit of finesse.

The finished tractor looks much like the robot, a mix of styles between Classics and Live-Action-Movie. I like it. The rear part of the tractor manages to hide the robot legs quite well and there are no visible robot parts, either. Both rifle and axes become part of the truck, so no parts are left over. The front of the truck look a bit pieced together maybe, but overall I like this vehicle mode. 

So bottom line for the truck mode: a highly stylized look that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but overall very nice.

Remarks: MakeToys originally made a name for themselves with their Battle Tanker Upgrade for Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime, but it wasn’t until several years later that they created a full-fledged Optimus Prime figure of their own. Striker Manus was the first figure in their Cross Dimension series, which also included Rioter Despotron and several figures that could combine with Striker Manus. MakeToys kind of stopped making new figures soon after, though, content to push out more color variants of their Meteor figure every now and then.

I had the opportunity to acquire Striker Manus at a recent fan meet-up in Germany for a very decent price and I’m quite happy that I did. While the figure has some slight limitations, it’s a pretty amazing Optimus Prime figure overall and in terms of looks and articulation I’d call him the best Third Party Optimus (in this scale) prior to Optus Pexus. So if you like Optimus Prime figures and like the somewhat more old-school third party look, then Striker Manus is definitely worth getting.

Rating: A-