Thundercats 2011 Bandai line continued (Part 1)

In August 2011, Bandai toys put out a line of 4'' Thundercats figures to accompany the new cartoon.  We got an impressive range of characters, vehicles, and a playset but when the show ended after only 26 episodes, the toy line went with it after only two waves and many collectors who enjoyed the show were left with gaping holes in their collection where key characters like Pumyra, Kaynar and Addicus, and the Berbils should have been.

(From ActionFigureInsider.com)

Although the unreleased third wave was finally revealed to the public in 2016, as well as little tidbits of what was being planned, we still don't know what we would've gotten after that. In this post I'll be speculating on what future waves of the 4'' Thundercats line would have had it continued. I'll start with a recap of the toys we did get as well as the unreleased third wave in case anyone wants to refresh their memory.

Wave 1 --- Fall 2011
Basic Figures:
-Lion-O
-Tygra
-Cheetara
-Panthro
-Wilykit
-Wilykat
-Mummy Mumm-Ra
Deluxe Figures:
-Deluxe Lion-O
-Deluxe Tygra
-Grune
Vehicles:
-ThunderTank with Snarf
- Lizard cannon with Lizard trooper
- ThunderRacer with Lion-O variant
-ThunderRacer with Tygra variant
Playset:
Tower of Omens with Invisible Tygra

Wave 2 --- Spring 2012
Basic Figures:
-Lion-O v.2
-Panthro v.2
-Claudus
-Mumm-Ra
Deluxe Figures:
-Deluxe Panthro
-Deluxe Mumm-Ra
-Slithe  
Vehicles: 
-Storm Charger with Mumm-Ra variant
-Tiger flyer with Tygus
Other:
-Armor of Omens with Gold Lion-O

(Unreleased) Wave 3 --- Fall 2012
Basic Figures:
-Jaga
-Kaynar
-Translucent Cheetara
-Episode 1&2 Tygra
-Ro-Bear Bill & Ro-Bear Beebo 2 pack
Deluxe Figures:
-Deluxe Cheetara
-Driller
Vehicles:
-Battle damaged ThunderTank with Translucent Panthro
-ThunderRacer v.2 with Lion-O variant
-ThunderRacer v.2 with Tygra variant
-Unnamed vehicle with Addicus
Playset: 
-Saber Tank with Translucent Berbil
Other: 
-Armor of Plun-Darr with Translucent Mumm-Ra


Now I'll make (well educated) guesses about what would've come after this. I am basing all assumptions off of the final episodes of the show and the podcast that Dan Norton did, revealing quite a bit about season 2, So here we go.

It appears that there was a pattern Bandai was following when deciding what to include in which wave. Each half season of the show would have gotten 2 waves focused around it with the lines being slightly blurred in some areas. For example, the first two waves covered almost everything in the first half of season 1 while wave 3 was mainly going to have toys based off the second half of season 1. We can also deduce from this pattern that we would most likely have gotten a playset every odd numbered wave. Wave 1 had The Tower of Omens, wave 3 would have had the Saber Tank and based off what was revealed to the public in 2016, it is very likely that wave 5 would have included a playset.

So without further ado, my list of guesses for wave 4.
Wave 4 --- Spring 2013
Basic Figures:
-Vultaire
-"Classic" Lion-O
-Purple Mumm-Ra
-Leo
Deluxe Figures: 
-Mumm-Ra with gauntlet of Plun-Darr
-Pumyra
Vehicles:
-Sky-Cutter with Raven soldier
-Feliner with Tygra variant

For the rest of this article I'll be talking about the reasons why each item is on the list, starting with the basic figures.

-Vultaire 
Vultaire is a given as he was one of the three figures announced for the fourth wave when wave 3 was shown in 2016. Although he only appeared in the last two episodes of the show, it seemed that he was being set up to make more appearances in season 2.
.

(From thundercats.fandom.com)

-Classic Lion-O
Classic Lion-O was the second figure announced for wave 4. I'm guessing that this figure would have been the same mold as the 2011 Lion-O figure but painted with the colors from the 80s line

-Purple Mumm-Ra
The third figure listed for wave 4 was a "Chase Figure". There aren't any hints as to who this could have been but it would be fun to get the rare purple variant Mumm-Ra in 2011 form.

(From Thundercats.org)

-Leo 
Leo was Lion-O's ancestor and the original lord of the Thundercats, who appeared in the episodes "Legacy" and "Birth of the Blades". Getting Leo as a basic figure seems highly possible considering Bandai produced other toys that only appeared in those episodes like the Tiger Flyer with Tygus and The Armor of Omens.  

(From Thundercats.ws)

-Mumm-Ra with gauntlet of Plun-Darr
 I'm placing Mumm-Ra with the gauntlet here because I'm sure we would have gotten this variant sooner or later. The wave 2 deluxe Mumm-Ra included the gauntlet but it was A). completely gold, and B). not attached to his arm. Lion-O v.1 had the gauntlet of omens as an accessory whereas v.2 Lion-O had the gauntlet attached to his arm (besides this there wasn't much difference between the figures). Based off this and Bandai's eagerness to make variants, it seems like getting Mumm-Ra with a correctly painted gauntlet is a logical conclusion.

(From thundercats.fandom.com)

 

-Pumyra 
Pumyra has to be the biggest character from the 2011 series that never got a made. She's another character who would have to have gotten a figure sooner rather than later. Being a main character near the end of the series as well as being wanted by fans of the original series leads me to believe she would have shown up somewhere in the fourth wave and if not as a basic figure than most likely  as a deluxe one. It may seem strange to only make a deluxe figure of her but there were a couple of other A-listers like Slithe and Grune that we only got in deluxe form.

(From thundercats.fandom.com)

-Sky-Cutter with Raven soldier
There weren't a whole lot of vehicles in the 2011 cartoon, which led to Bandai making toys of vehicles that barely appeared in the show i.e, Tiger Flyer, Lizard Canon, ThunderRacer; So a vehicle that appeared in more than one episode and was also a reimagining of a vehicle from the 80s series had pretty much the best chances of being made that you could get. The figure included most likely would have been one of the raven soldiers since they piloted the Sky-Cutters.

(From thundercats-ho.fandom.com)

(From thundercats.fandom.com)

-Feliner with Tygra variant
The Feliner became the Thundercats ride in the last two episodes of the show after the ThunderTank was destroyed in "The Soul Sever". Whether or not it was going to appear much in season 2, it was a fun vehicle and being in the 80s series, was well known by collectors. A Tygra variant seems like the logical choice to put here as he was the only character who was able to fly it.

(From thundercats.fandom.com)

I hope you've enjoyed reading this article, next week I'll be releasing part 2 in which I speculate about wave 5 which focuses on the unproduced second season. Have a great day!