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Transformers Toy Review Archive (older series, 1984 to date)
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MissingSea's review: Drag Strip

Name: Drag Strip
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Menasor's Right Arm (sort of)
Sub-Group: Stunticon

The only thing Decepticon Drag Strip hates more than the Autobots is coming in second. He hates losing so much, he'll do anything to avoid it. Cheating is always his first resort, followed quickly by outright violence against his competition. The other Decepticons wouldn't be at all sad to see him scrapped, since he's almost as much of a pain for them to deal with as he is for the enemy.

As the Universe line has progressed we have had some excellent new molds and quite a few repaints. Mixed in amongst the repaints from previous lines, have been repaints from the Classics line, to which Universe is the spiritual successor. Universe Drag Strip is a repaint of, what is in my opinion, one of the best molds from the Classics series - Mirage. So with my love of the mold (and a distinct lack of 'Cons in my Uni/Classics line-up) I had to pick him up.

Packaging:

Drag Strip was released as part of the Deluxe Special Editions and is the third in the line, with repaints of the Classics Deluxe Prime and Megs being the previous two. As such, he comes in a very well presented 'book' style black box, with a white on black silhouette of Drag Strip in bot mode on the front of the flap, which opens up to give you a view through a plastic window of Drag Strip in his bot mode. So for those who keep their Transformers in the boxes in makes a lovely display piece.

Alternate Mode:

Drag Strip's alt mode is based on a Formula 1 type race car, but with an enclosed canopy. This is a good homage to his G1 alt mode, all-be-it with only 2 front wheels compared to the original mold.

He is predominantly yellow, with red highlights on his rear wing, sides and the front wing, while the canopy is a transparent red. There is also some gold highlighting around the canopy, the front wing and the front suspension forks. The placement of these highlights breaks up the primary yellow making it a bit easier on the eyes.

The mold also has some nice little details, with vents along the side of the car, fairly detailed front suspension. When you flip him over, not only do you get the quad exhausts, but there is also some nice detailing on the front underside of the car, which is only noticeable when he's flipped over and in the alt mode, so it's a nice touch.

Though what is a well though out and none to complicate transformation we come to the

Robot Mode:

As with the alt mode the primary colour here is yellow, with the red and gold highlights. However, we also have the addition of black, purple and blue to the colour scheme, with a small bit of purple on the hip guards and his helmet, while his face is what I believe is called baby blue. The black is limited to the arms and the hands (and the tires), but as with the alt mode these colours work well together.

As I mentioned at the start of the review, this mold is one of my favourites from the Uni/Classics line. The bot mode is probably one of the best proportioned bot modes of the classics line, and as with the alt mode there are some nice little details, with venting on the arms and in a semi-circle around the face. In addition, the front wing of the alt mode becomes Drag Strip's blaster.

Articulation is also plentiful, with ball joints on the shoulders and neck, his arms rotate just above the elbow, which is itself double jointed. The waist can rotate a full 360 degrees, while the knees are also double jointed. The 'toes' are also on ball jointed armatures. All these joints combined with a low center of gravity and large-ish feet allow for some very dynamic poses from this little fellow.

However, the mold does have some faults. I'm not sure whether its just mine or whether the mold has degraded somewhat, but some of the joints are a bit loose compared to Mirage. His head can become a bit droopy, and his knee joints seem a bit loose. Also the nose of the alt mode refuses to stay in position and pops down when he's transformed meaning that the front wheels don't always touch the ground. Not a big thing, but can be a bit annoying.

Transformation: 5 - well though out, not overly complex and gets the job done well.
Durability: 8 - aside from the droopy neck I'd say the guy is fairly durable.
Fun: 8 - a well thought out transformation and excellent articulation make this guy one the best of the Uni/Classics line.
Price: 6 - I managed to pick mine up on ebay for £15 including P&P, which is just a little more than deluxes are fetching at retail. But that said I have seen people selling him for double that.
Overall: 7 - A great little transformer and nice addition to the Uni/Classics line.

 
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