Death's Head
19-08-11, 09:06 AM
Money for old rope from Hasbro with the third outing for a mould originally used for Mirage as part of 2006's Classics range. The mould cropped up again during 2007 as part of the Live Action Movie line as Fracture and was exclusive to K-Mart. Universe Drag Strip was released in 2008 in a spiffy black book-box and was exclusive to the Asian / Australian markets.
As many kit-bashers noted, Classics Mirage could easily be appropriated as the Stunticon Drag Strip. Hasbro too seemed to notice this and pumped out their own version in a savvy move that made it possible to own the figure without paying a premium for a custom made piece. As a straight repaint, Drag Strip does lack the additional front wheels that his original 1980s toy had, but that's excusable because a) its a completely made up F1 alt mode that isn't based on a real vehicle, b) not even Frenzy-Rumble could add a an extra pair of wheels to this toy without it looking cluttered, clumsy and well, a bit rubbish (sorry, but it does - the mould doesn't have enough space at the front to allow for this) and c) the Classics line is meant to be a homage line - not a carbon copy of something that came out 20 years ago.
It's a good job this mould is one of the best of the Classics line. Its repeat useage doesn't get tired and it just fits the likes of Fracture and Drag Strip without either of them looking like an off - colour Mirage. Few repaints pull this trick off or manage to convince that the toy is a different character.
The figure comes packaged in robot mode, so that's where we'll start. Drag Strip retains the yellow that is his predominant colour. It's a much brighter yellow than the mustard colour that his 1980s counterpart sported (calm down, geewun purists!). Mercifully, Hasbro have done a good job in breaking up the yellow with some smart paint apps to stop him looking like a big banana. The head has a nice purple helmet (fnarr fnarr) and blue face, the Decepticon symbol on his chest is nice and crisp, and the read and purple decals bring the figure to life. He looks very good indeed.
This mould also has some of the best articulation of any Transformers toy. The arms are double jointed, the legs the same and the feet are ball jointed too. Beacuse of the angle of the torso, the head can't really turn successfully without making the figure look a little hunch backed, but I can live with that. It is the thought that counts, after all. On top of that, the whole body of the figure is sleek and areodynamic and just screams speed. You can imagine Drag Strip being just as fast and violent in either mode. I suppose the proportions are a little off, with those huge legs tapering off to a tiny head, but I don't mind this. Nor do I mind the 60 degree tilt the figure seems to have, thanks to the curvature of those front wheels stored behind the robot's head. Thanks to the sweep of the figure, it looks just right to me.
The other point of criticism a lot of folk have is for the toy's weapon. Fair enough, it does look a bit silly the front spoiler doubling as a gun, but I'd always imagined it to be more of a crossbow - type weapon and when you think of it like that, it just seems pretty damn cool.
The transformation is awesome. A really elegant sequence of twists and folds, that collapses the robot form down into its alt mode rapidly and without frustration. Its one of my very favourite sequences and I love the feeling that the speed and fluidity of the vehicle mode is carried right through every step of this toy. It is fantastic.
The resultant F1 type racing car is where it goes a bit wrong for Drag Strip. The red hubs are nice, but the racing stripes are just too weedy and don't stand out enough against all that yellow, leaving that beautiful wedge - shaped racing car looking like a very fast piece of cheese. Some bolder applications of red - or better yet - some funky thick purple racing lines (perhaps equivalent to those on Fracture) would have really made the vehicle mode sing. After everything else about the toy being so right, this is such a disappointment. It just doesn't look as good as it should and both Drag Strip and the mould deserve better.
250251
As many kit-bashers noted, Classics Mirage could easily be appropriated as the Stunticon Drag Strip. Hasbro too seemed to notice this and pumped out their own version in a savvy move that made it possible to own the figure without paying a premium for a custom made piece. As a straight repaint, Drag Strip does lack the additional front wheels that his original 1980s toy had, but that's excusable because a) its a completely made up F1 alt mode that isn't based on a real vehicle, b) not even Frenzy-Rumble could add a an extra pair of wheels to this toy without it looking cluttered, clumsy and well, a bit rubbish (sorry, but it does - the mould doesn't have enough space at the front to allow for this) and c) the Classics line is meant to be a homage line - not a carbon copy of something that came out 20 years ago.
It's a good job this mould is one of the best of the Classics line. Its repeat useage doesn't get tired and it just fits the likes of Fracture and Drag Strip without either of them looking like an off - colour Mirage. Few repaints pull this trick off or manage to convince that the toy is a different character.
The figure comes packaged in robot mode, so that's where we'll start. Drag Strip retains the yellow that is his predominant colour. It's a much brighter yellow than the mustard colour that his 1980s counterpart sported (calm down, geewun purists!). Mercifully, Hasbro have done a good job in breaking up the yellow with some smart paint apps to stop him looking like a big banana. The head has a nice purple helmet (fnarr fnarr) and blue face, the Decepticon symbol on his chest is nice and crisp, and the read and purple decals bring the figure to life. He looks very good indeed.
This mould also has some of the best articulation of any Transformers toy. The arms are double jointed, the legs the same and the feet are ball jointed too. Beacuse of the angle of the torso, the head can't really turn successfully without making the figure look a little hunch backed, but I can live with that. It is the thought that counts, after all. On top of that, the whole body of the figure is sleek and areodynamic and just screams speed. You can imagine Drag Strip being just as fast and violent in either mode. I suppose the proportions are a little off, with those huge legs tapering off to a tiny head, but I don't mind this. Nor do I mind the 60 degree tilt the figure seems to have, thanks to the curvature of those front wheels stored behind the robot's head. Thanks to the sweep of the figure, it looks just right to me.
The other point of criticism a lot of folk have is for the toy's weapon. Fair enough, it does look a bit silly the front spoiler doubling as a gun, but I'd always imagined it to be more of a crossbow - type weapon and when you think of it like that, it just seems pretty damn cool.
The transformation is awesome. A really elegant sequence of twists and folds, that collapses the robot form down into its alt mode rapidly and without frustration. Its one of my very favourite sequences and I love the feeling that the speed and fluidity of the vehicle mode is carried right through every step of this toy. It is fantastic.
The resultant F1 type racing car is where it goes a bit wrong for Drag Strip. The red hubs are nice, but the racing stripes are just too weedy and don't stand out enough against all that yellow, leaving that beautiful wedge - shaped racing car looking like a very fast piece of cheese. Some bolder applications of red - or better yet - some funky thick purple racing lines (perhaps equivalent to those on Fracture) would have really made the vehicle mode sing. After everything else about the toy being so right, this is such a disappointment. It just doesn't look as good as it should and both Drag Strip and the mould deserve better.
250251