Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Drag Strip


Review:  #232
Name:  Drag Strip
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release:  2015
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 1)
Variations:  none as of this date

VEHICLE MODE:


Drag Strip transforms into a Formula race car with an open driver's seat like the original toy, he only has four wheels though.


He is very blocky in this mode, closer to a square than the more dynamic curves of the Universe version.


He sits very low on the ground but has enough clearance to roll freely on the table.


Drag Strip trades height for length in this mode.  It's a bit unfortunately that his spoiler seems to be truncated though.


As part of Wave 1, Drag Strip doesn't come with a comic (although in subsequent waves' revisions, he does), instead, he comes with a collector's card.


The combiner piece can attach on top.


While he sword can plug into the back.  I can't find a better place to put it, you can peg it onto the side but it sticks out and the secondary handle is on an angle, so you're not even able to plug it in that way.


A great vehicle mode.

TRANSFORMATION:

Drag Strip has a very simple transformation, one that is quite unoriginal.  The rear extends to become his feet, the sides unfold for his arms and the front folds into his back.  That said, the easiness of it makes him fun and quick to convert between modes.

ROBOT MODE:


Drag Strip's robot mode bears a good resemblance to his G1 toy, right down to the combiner ports forming his chest.  While accurate, I do wish that it wasn't so obvious since it looks lazy.


He wears the front of the vehicle as a backpack, but it sits flush against his back causing no issues whatsoever.


The head sculpt is nice although he has the weird "bleeding" from his visor.


He's a tiny bit smaller than the Deluxes of old but still pretty sizable.


Poseability is pretty good, he even has a waist joint.


The visible screws are a bit unsightly and his forearms make him seem like he's wearing a long sleeve shirt with giant sleeves.


He comes with two weapons, a sword and a combiner piece that doubles up as a gun.


His sword looks quite nice and contains some great sculpting.


There's also a second handle that lets it be held like a gun (but it lacks a barrel).  The handle is at an odd angle and I can't fathom why it was molded that way.


The head is on a balljoint and there are elbow swivels too.  He feet are large enough for him to be stable in a wide variety of poses.


The combiner piece can be used as a gun but the barrels look weird and overall, the piece is too big to look good.


A good robot mode overall, the head sculpt and aesthetics nail him as Drag Strip better than the Universe version did (although truth be told,that figure was a repaint).

OVERALL:

Drag Strip is a fun toy.  The simplicity is the compromise of being part of a combiner, although this isn't really a compromise anyway.  He looks good in both modes and feels solid in your hands.  Even if you weren't intending to form Menasor, Drag Strip is worth a look, and a purchase.

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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this link.

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Let's have a quick look at Drag Strip's combiner features.


The combiner piece is able to form both a hand and a foot.  The hand is actually quite ingenious.


While the foot is pretty much the weapon mode with the heel folded out.


Drag Strip's arm mode uses the knees and hips as elbows, and uses the waist swivel to great effect.


For leg mode, you need to fold the spoiler up otherwise it'll be too long.


The fists have a 5mm peg hole to place any of the other bot's weapons.


He looks good in either mode to be honest.  Well, thanks for reading!

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