Name: Drag Strip
Series: Generation 1
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Warrior
Alternate Mode: Drag Racer
CAR MODE
Height: 2.5cm Length: 9cm Width: 5cm
A yellow drag racer with two sets of small black front tyres and a set of _giant_ black rear tyres, Drag Strip has a chrome silver engine block, with eight visible pistons, behind the cockpit. There's a black sticker on the front, which looks like it's meant to be a front window, but I think the guy designing the sticker failed to notice that he has an open cockpit. Drag Strip's rubsign is proudly visible on his airdam, inside it's own indent. This is one of the few occasions where a rubsign _really_ works as a feature of the vehicle mode, which is probably because it coordinates with the false windshield and the engine block. All told, it's a decent colour scheme - and Drag Strip's lucky enough to score chrome (which was rare for a Scramble City combiner).
The mould is fairly simple but not lazy - it's not like these things are designed for looks - it's made for acceleration and nothing else. The giant rear tyres and engine block prove that someone did think about this car - and the end result is a good dragster. The only real blemish is the holes visible on the sides, which are the holes in his fists.
Play value is about what you'd expect - he can roll on his wheels and adding the big burgundy guns on top creates his attack mode. While an attack dragster is kind of bizarre, so is an open dragster with no driver. I should point out that you can attach his handgun in this mode - something you can't do with his teammates.
A fun dragster without being overdone, and Drag Strip's lucky enough to have scored chrome. This vehicle doesn't quite fit in with the other Stunticons, but considering how many Autobot racers there were during G1, a Stunticon racer is fine by me.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Flip the engine up and down into his cockpit, extend the rear to form his legs. Flip up the spoiler to form his feet, fold the airdam down onto his back to reveal his head. Give Drag Strip his handgun.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 8.5cm Width: 4.5cm
Again largely yellow, with the smaller front tyres on his shoulders and the big rear tyres on his ankles, Drag Strip's torso has the chrome engine as a central feature - although we're now looking at the underside, which has moulded circuitry. Drag Strip has a burgundy head with a sky blue face. As with the other small Stunticons, he has die cast metal, but it's on his back, contributing to his weight but not his aesthetic. While the die cast is wasted, the colour scheme here is good, if unusual.
Drag Strip has the best facial sculpt of the small Stunticons, but it's somewhat hidden by the blue paint. I wish his boots weren't a single piece, it would have been fairly easy to mould separate pieces that fuse in construction (think First Aid. The tyres on both his ankles and shoulders are well placed features, and the silver on his torso is really clever.
The play value is laughable by modern standards - his shoulders rotate and that's it. While this is typical of the G1 combiner limbs, for a toy with such a simple Transformation, it's disappointing. And Drag Strip has three design flaws that bother me. Firstly, the holes in his fists are actually on his wrists - which isn't so bad. Secondly, the metal plate on his back makes him back heavy, it doesn't take much to send him over. Lastly, his shoulder joints are slightly lower than they should be, so raising his arms makes Drag Strip look weird.
Overall it's a good robot mode in concept, but they really should have addressed his weight issues. There are some other minor problems that get in the way of me really liking this robot mode, which is a shame since it's easy to see it's potential.
VARIATIONS
There were two releases of this toy - one in 1986 and another in 1990 in Classic packaging. I've been unable to find any differences between the two.
OVERALL
A good dragster mode is held back by a robot mode with too many problems. Granted, most of the problems are minor, but they add up. On his own, Drag Strip isn't a toy I recommend - he's really only worthwhile if you're getting the set - 4.5/10
|
